When it rains, it pours
by le piano a queue
Summary: Dr. Cullen has a few things on his mind, a mysterious murder mystery, a few medical maladies, an arrogant intern, angry werewolves, his son's graduation and many other strange twists and turns. Tell me what you think! Enjoy!
1. Chapter 1

A few notes from the author:

I don't own _Twilight_ or any of Stephanie Meyers' characters, but I do own this plot.

I did research, so the medical information is accurate.

Read, enjoy, and tell me what you think! I won't use my time to finish this story if no one reads, so please reply if you like it, or if you don't. This way I will know to put up chapter 2 or not. I have a complex and compelling idea, with twists, turns and medical maladies. Let me know how you like it!

Chapter I

The heavy grey cloud that had been ominously floating over Forks finally burst, expelling its contents in sheets of early spring rain. Dr. Carlisle Cullen naturally flicked on his wind shield wipers, being used to the constant rate of precipitation in Forks. He headed home on the narrow road that led to the Cullen Mansion, swaying his head peacefully to the melody of the Italian opera music that seemed constant in his car. The soothing music provided a relief from his busy day.

He had been working double time for two weeks, coming in early and staying late. One of the head doctors with whom he worked had been called away for business in Seattle. It wouldn't have mattered much, but Dr.Cullen did two jobs, he was the head diagnostician and pathologists at the hospital. He worked with the living, and with the dead. Ironically, it was the same with his life. His expertise was highly praised at the hospital, and he often did work all around the region.

When he finally arrived home, he saw Bella's familiar truck parked outside.

"Bella." He sighed. Graduation was approaching, and college would follow that. Carlisle had argued with Edward just the night before about what would be done with her. However, Edward refused to talk about the subject that remained so controversial. Carlisle only wanted the best for both of them; he didn't want to see anyone hurt.

Upon entering his home, he became Carlisle, instead of Dr. Cullen, a relief from his long day. With opera music slightly buzzing in his head, he walked upstairs and placed his brief case on his desk. Suddenly, he felt Esme's arms around his waist. He turned around, happy to see her. Her smile faded slightly. "Your eyes look dark." She said in a concerned tone. "You should have come with us at the beginning of the week."

"There were a lot of problems at the hospital." He said with a smile. He held Esme's hand. "Don't worry I don't have to work this weekend."

She smiled in relief. "Why, did they throw you out for working too much?" She joked.

"Well….actually, yes, they told me to take a break." He smirked. The shrill ring of his cell phone pierced the air. Instantly, he flipped it open. "Dr. Cullen." He said in his professional voice. Sensing it was for work, Esme looked at her husband sternly.

"Alright, I'll be there shortly." Carlisle hung up with a perplexed look on his face.

"Why do they want you back? Did something happen?"

"They need me to do an autopsy."

Esme raised her eyebrows. "An autopsy? What happened?"

Carlisle ran his hand through his blond hair. "They say a girl was found dead a few hours ago, usually an autopsy is unnecessary, but they don't know why she died. I'd like to take a look; just to be sure everything is fine."

Esme nodded without question and kissed her husband as he gathered his briefcase.

Once he arrived at the hospital, he headed to the basement. The pathology department was beneath the eyes of the living. Settled beneath the floors of the hospital was an entire department dedicated to study and analysis. He stepped out of the elevator and headed down a short hallway, past the lab and analysis room. He came to the last door, the autopsy room. It was a square room with a wide door, fit for a gurney to slide effortlessly through. The floor was white with large square tiles, and it was filled with the aroma of disinfectant. Shiny metal cabinets lined the perimeter of the room, and bright overhead lights illuminated the white and shining atmosphere.

He was greeted by two other people. The coroner and Carlisle's assistant.

"The body was retrieved approximately two hours ago. It was found in the woods, a hiker, I assume. It's a deceased Joanna Cartlette." The coroner said as Carlisle put on sanitary attire over his clothes.

"What was time of death?" Carlisle asked.

"By the looks of the body, I'd say about twenty hours." The coroner replied. "She must have died over night."

"That's odd." Carlisle said as he knitted his brow in a perplexed manner.

"What is it doctor?" The coroner asked.

"Why would she be hiking at night?"

"Camping maybe? The police are investigating it anyways, its standard."

Carlisle nodded as he removed the clean white sheet that covered the body on the steel table in the center of the room. His eyes widened slightly as he examined the girl who was now pale with death. There were two puncture wounds in the left side of her neck, and her light blond hair was tinted red from dry blood. "She was wounded in the left jugular vein; she lost a large quantity of blood in a short period of time." Carlisle said, as his assistant scribbled down his words.

"We found a snake at the scene, if that's any help. It was dead, when we found it. Our guess is that she killed it.

"I would assume she was a victim of a snake bite, judging from the wounds in her neck and the evidence you've found. Some snakes bite where they know they can kill their predator, the jugular vein is a good place to strike. Of course, she would have to already be on the ground, or have been attacked by a very long snake. My guess is that she bent down for some reason and disturbed a snake in its resting place. The snake bites her, and the venom goes almost directly to her heart. If the snake wasn't venomous, she would have bled to death. My opinion on how she died is irrelevant though. I'm only responsible for finding out why she died internally."

"True, but your idea seems to make sense." The coroner said in agreement.

"Do you have the snake with you?" Carlisle asked. "We should use it to analyze the bite, and find out if it's venomous."

"We already handed it over to some of your people." The coroner replied. Carlisle's assistant nodded in agreement.

He cut into the body very delicately, looking for signs that would fit the common snake theory. However, he had second thoughts about it, it seemed odd. There had never been any snake bite fatalities in Forks, but it wasn't farfetched. She was hiking in the woods at night. Other, more complex and peculiar ideas circulated in his head. Reptiles were not the only creatures that hunted at night.

The autopsy commenced after five hours. All the standard procedures were complete, and a final decision was made. The cause of death had been determined as loss of blood due to a snake bite accident. Nothing else seemed to be wrong. Samples of her blood around the wound and from inside her veins would be sent for venom analysis, among other things.

Before the body was packaged up and sent to the morgue, Carlisle noticed a look in her on her ghostly face. It seemed almost frightened, filled with terror that she knew she wouldn't make it. Carlisle felt empathy for her. She hadn't expected her life to end so soon.

He spent a few minutes talking with the others, about securing the details once the biochemical results came back. Everything was to be tested, just for standard reasons, but the evidence seemed pretty clear. Thus the long night finally ended.

On his way home he pondered about the accident. He knew it was an odd situation. Could it have been the work of a vampire? All of the evidence would logically prove to show it was, but this would be too preposterous to prove legally. Not to mention the work was done in a sloppy manner. No vampire would just leave the evidence, especially in a place so easily accessed such as a hiking trail.

"_If it had been a vampire, Alice would have seen it. She usually predicts situations that are similar to this." _Carlisle thought to himself. An image of Victoria flashed across his mind. Yet, if it had been her, Alice surely would have received a premonition.

_"Perhaps I'm overreacting, but I don't think this possibility should be overlooked. Vampires are not responsible for every calamity that happens in Forks, although it may seem that way. Yet, I can't avoid the idea entirely." _ He continued to think. Carlisle analyzed his theories and silently argued with himself until he reached home. He knew it was his job to protect the innocent citizens of Forks from the strange and unnatural forces that seemed to reside here. He then cleared his mind. He decided not to bring up the circumstance until he knew for sure.

"_I'll make my final decisions when the venom tests come back, if there is no snake venom…then there will be a problem." _He thought as he exited his vehicle. Carlisle then decided to inquire if Alice had any recent predictions that would lead him in the right direction. Besides that, he would say, or think nothing about it. It was unnecessary to alarm everybody else because he had a single theory, yet it was nearly impossible to keep a secret in the Cullen household.

The Cullen house was well lit, even in the late hours of the night. Carlisle slipped inside and went in search of Alice. He found her sitting on the couch with her legs crossed watching a _Lifetime_ movie on television. She tended to have odd taste in films.

"Could I interrupt you for a moment?" Carlisle asked softly, trying not to disturb her too much. He appeared calm and smooth as usual.

"Yea sure." She said turning off her dramatic b-movie.

"Oh, you don't have to do that it will only take a second." Carlisle said.

"It's fine I've already seen that one anyway. What's up?"

"I wanted to ask if you have had any premonitions lately."

Alice's bright face darkened. "I had one yesterday, I should have told you…….but I thought there was a mistake." A look of concern filled her eyes.

"Did it by any chance deal with the fatality of a local girl?" He asked as his hands tightened around the back of the couch.

"Yes." Alice said in a frightfully sad tone. "I think I know who did it, but I'm still not sure, it doesn't seem right."

"You can tell me, it's very important that you do. If this was a murder…."

He stopped as Alice pursed her lips in concern. "It's not a murder if a vampire did it, humans are our natural prey." She objected.

"Then it was a vampire?" He asked, surprised by her defensive and apprehensive tone. A thought suddenly dawned upon him. _"Was it one of us?"_ He thought. _"No, it couldn't have been… could it?" _His long pause told Alice what he was thinking about.

"This time my vision was hazy, different than usual." She closed her eyes and bent her petit figure forward. "I saw the girl, on the ground. I was surprised because I knew her. I saw Jasper standing there; then I lost the vision." She stopped, looking to the ground. Carlisle began to pace the back and fourth, running his hand through his hair. _"Jasper?"_ He thought. His silence once again seemed to bother her. "There was nothing I could do stop him, I see things after someone makes up their mind about what they are going to do…." Her voice trailed off into a whisper.

"You said you saw it yesterday, did you talk to him?" Carlisle asked gently, not wanting to upset her, she appeared distraught.

"No, I couldn't find him." She replied.

"Edward must know then." Carlisle said. "It must have been on your mind."

Alice nodded. "I'm sorry I didn't tell you right away, I was unsure, and I still am. Edward and I, we tried to find him…"

"Don't worry." He said. "I'll talk to him when he's ready."

"This vision I had, it was different than all the others. I didn't see it in the same way, it was unclear. I don't want to blame him, but I feel like I have no choice." She said standing up.

"What about the others? Do they know about this?"

"No. Not even Esme, I didn't want to tell her, I knew she'd be devastated."

"And Bella?"

"No, she doesn't know either."

"Alright. Let's keep it that way for now." Carlisle said, feeling slightly guilty for wanting to conceal a secret from the other members of his family.

He headed up to his office where he sat down and turned on his computer. The same thoughts about Jasper filled his head. If he had been so compelled to kill a human, he should have done it in a larger town. Jasper was smarter than that. _"What came over him, to cause him to make such a vapid decision? Perhaps it was spontaneous, but why?" _Carlisle thought as he pulled up his e-mail. _"Perhaps I'm over thinking it."_ Carlisle let out a sigh as he pondered. A short message from work reminded him of something that had slipped his mind. Tomorrow his new intern would be starting.


	2. Chapter 2

Chapter II

_"Small town news travels fast." _Carlisle thought as he scanned the contents of the Forks daily paper. It had been hardly been twenty four hours and the news of Joanna Cartlette's death had been released. It showed how little the local journalists had to cover. It was Friday, a relief for anyone, even a vampire. Although Dr. Cullen had many things to think about, he was happy to know that he would not have to work for two days. Those days he would spend sorting things out.

The sky was still dark when he prepared to leave. Dr. Cullen always left at five o'clock a.m. to avoid any risky situations involving sunlight. As he opened the front door, he was greeted by Edward, who was coming in.

"Any luck?" Carlisle asked.

"No. I still can't find him. I've been listening for his thoughts though." Edward said in an adgitated manner. "I wish he'd just come back, it's not like were going to throw him out…..are we?"

"Of course not!" Carlisle said in his lovingly parental tone. "We'll just have to give him some time; he knows that we would be searching for him, and that we'd be disappointed. Perhaps he needs time to think….Without you interfering."

Edward sighed in a stressed manner. "I understand, but Joanna? She was valedictorian; she had everything going for her…." He stopped for a moment; an angry and empathetic look dawned over his face. "I never heard him thinking about her, or even mentioning her name, it doesn't seem right. Why would he just kill her like that?" He said as he raised his voice.

"Edward, don't get angry." Carlisle said, placing his hand on his son's shoulder. "We can only wait until we hear the truth from him. Give him some time, and promise me you won't go looking for him anymore today."

Edward glanced out the open front door for a moment the stepped to the side. There was a brief silence between the two.

"Alright." He said. "You should probably get going, I mean since you have an interview with your new intern today."

Carlisle smiled. "I nearly forgot about that."

"I'm surprised, you thought about it for some time last week."

"Last week we didn't have such a calamity to worry about."

"True,"

"I'm going to off to work now, have a good day at school."

"Why do you bother saying that?" Edward asked, slightly annoyed, but still presenting a small smile.

"What? I can't wish you a good day at school?"

Edward rolled his eyes with a smile. "Bye Carlisle."

Upon his arrival to the hospital, Carlisle met one of the nurses leaving.

"Do you _always _come so early Dr. Cullen? You were only here, like, seven hours ago."

"_Oh, yes that." _He thought, forgetting the hour he had left the hospital previously. "I don't require much sleep." Was his earnest reply.

The nurse shook her head. "I swear Dr. Cullen; this hospital is practically your home."

"Is it not the same with all doctors? It should be their duty to serve the ill." He replied.

She only laughed softly. "See you later Dr. Cullen."

Carlisle then headed up to his office, stopping to chat casually with the people who were leaving their night shift. Once he reached his office he began to work on some other cases until a nurse knocked softly on his door. "Dr. Cullen, is this a good time?" She asked, rather flustered.

"Of course, I was just reviewing a few things from last week." He replied with a smile. "Is there a problem?"

"Well, we have a patient who is exhibiting convulsions and vomiting, she's been here since last night, and Dr. Maryter could use your opinion."

Carlisle followed her out, and into the designated room. There he saw the patient, wary form convolutions, lying with her eyes shut. Dr. Maryter stood to the left of the bed.

"Good morning Dr. Cullen." Dr. Mayrter said, acknowledging the entry of his co-worker. He wasted no time in getting down to business. "She's been showing an array of symptoms all night, we've run some tests, but I'd like your opinion as to what this girl might have."

The two physicians walked out of the room and into an empty conference room across the hall.

"May I see the records?" Dr. Cullen asked.

"Oh, yes, of course." Dr. Maryter said, handing over his clipboard.

Dr. Cullen scanned the paper. "You said you've run some tests, I assume they came back not too long ago."

"Yes, they're on the sheet underneath."

Carlisle reviewed the tangible evidence, while he discussed possible theories wit his co-worker for nearly an hour before a fairly obscure subject emerged.

"It could be Meningitis." Carlisle said. His fellow doctor looked at him for a moment. "Meningitis? It's a possibility, yet it seems too farfetched. It's so hard to diagnose. The symptoms being…."

"So general." Dr. Cullen said, ending Dr. Maryter's thought. "We should check to be sure."

"Dr. Cullen, my years of experience and current statistics say that meningitis is _extremely _rare. You are more likely to get attacked by a shark than get meningitis. Plus, the testing is dangerous. Taking spinal fluid to test for such a rare disease seems too outrageous."

"She could have had a middle ear infection that went untreated, the infection could be carried to the meninges by the blood, and then the bacteria could have spread."

"It's a possibility, still, I feel like we need more evidence. Should we give it another day?"

"Another day could be disastrous if she had meningitis, and let's not forget how contagious some strains are. I feel it would be best to go ahead and test for it."

Dr. Maryter knitted his brow as he scanned the several sheets of paper in front of him for the sixth time. "Hmmm." Was his response. Dr. Maryter was an extravagantly cautious doctor, a good quality, but it sometimes reached the point where he would scarcely agree with a possible fact. Carlisle interrupted the silence.

"Her record says here that she often has been susceptible to middle ear infections. Perhaps one went over looked for too long." He said pointing to the document suspended to the clip board in front of him.

"Dr. Cullen, you're always alert no matter what time it is." Dr. Maryter said looking at his watch, then at the document.

"Why don't we do the lumbar puncture, there many things we can test for using the spinal fluid." Dr. Cullen suggested, deciding to ignore Dr. Maryter's previous comment. He knew his coworker had been here all night, and was a little weary.

"Alright, we'll need some consent then." Dr. Maryter stated. "I'll go secure that, and you can review the records."

"Are you positive that you agree Dr. Maryter?" Dr. Cullen asked sincerely.

"Of course." Dr. Maryter replied as he left the conference room.

Carlisle knew it was his duty to preserve the lives of his patients, even if it meant taking a few elevated and somewhat farfetched assumptions.

After a series of tests and a successful lumbar puncture, the samples were sent to the lab, where Dr. Cullen could further analyze them. Before putting on his lab gear, he glanced at the clock.

"Blast!" He cursed under his breath as he realized it was already ten o'clock. His intern would be here in nearly fifteen minutes. Reluctantly he left his lab work to wait until he was graced with a more convenient time.

Dr. Cullen hastily made it to his office, so that he could prepare for his visitor. What was his name? It wasn't coming to his mind.

When he reached his office, he saw that there was somebody already occupying the chair that sat across from his desk.

"_Interns, they always come so early." _He thought as he opened the door. He glanced around for a few seconds, trying to see if the name of this student was on any of the papers in front of him. "Are you here for the interview?" Dr. Cullen asked as he made his way behind his desk. The student looked at him for a moment before replying.

"Yes, with Doctor Cullen." The student replied. He looked about in his twenties, a little young for an internship. Dr. Cullen wondered why the student was stating such an obvious question, when he realized he had left his white doctor's coat with his name embroidered on it in the lab. His extremely young appearance could cause a miscalculation with anyone.

"I'm Dr. Cullen." He said placing his hand out over the desk in order to shake the intern's hand. The student arched his eyebrow.

"_You're_ Dr. Cullen? Diagnostician and pathologist?" He said quizzically.

"You seem to know me better than I do." Dr. Cullen said with a smile.

"You can't be, you don't look even a third older than I am!" The student said bluntly.

"Looks can be deceiving." Carlisle said, with a smile lingering in the corner of his mouth. Before the student could say another word, a nurse opened the office door slightly. She knew very well that Dr. Cullen was busy, yet she had a habit of going out of her way to talk to him.

"Dr. Cullen, your autopsy reports are back." She handed him a thick folder, then departed with a smile.

"Thank you." He said after her. The student's face began to turn slightly red as his eyes widened. "I apologize, for my bluntness." He said looking down for a moment. He then snapped back to a completely professional demeanor.

"Think nothing of it." Dr. Cullen said warmly. "It seems to happen to me too often."

"Here are my papers." The student said with a smug grin. "They are quite impressive."

Dr. Cullen took the papers and observed the name on the title page.

"_Gregory Lawrence. That's it!" _Carlisle thought. Gregory had a sharp appearance. He was well dressed and sat ramrod straight. His hair was combed back nicely and he seemed very serious.

The interview went well generally, but Gregory seemed rather full of himself. Carlisle planned to try and mold his new project in to a compassionate doctor, but he sensed a lot of hard work ahead of him.

"Mr. Lawrence, I am happy to accept you, and I aim to help you to further understand the medical profession and the responsibilities of a doctor." Carlisle said with a smile.

"Thank you Dr. Cullen. I'll see you on Monday." Gregory said shaking hands to commence the meeting.

After the departure of Mr. Lawrence, Dr. Cullen decided to review the autopsy files. His eyes widened as he reviewed the information in front of him.

"_Impossible." _He thought to himself._ "How odd. The venom test proved positive. It was an exact match to the very snake that was found at the scene." _ He pondered.

"_If Alice only saw Jasper, it didn't mean that he killed Joanna. Perhaps her vision was only trying to foreshadow the death its self, and not Jasper killing her. Yes, that could be true. He was only at the scene…mysteriously…I've no doubt that Jasper could be innocent. Yet, the only way to find out for sure is to ask Jasper himself, when he's ready that is. This is all too odd." _

Dr. Cullen decided to give his pondering a rest, and get to work on saving the lives of his patients, before jumping into an even longer train of thought.

Planning on going to the lab to finish the tests for his patients, he headed to the elevator. Before he got inside, Dr. Maryter came dashing towards him.

"Dr. Cullen, we have a problem."

"What is it?"

"It's our patient from this morning; she's showing a purple tinted rash. I'm afraid your assumption was true. She's got meningitis."

"Good God. That's a highly contagious strain. Get her in quarantine, and I'll check her parents, they're downstairs right?"

"In the lobby."

"Thanks."

Dr. Maryter only nodded in acknowledgement before sprinting off. Carlisle stepped in to the elevator, and headed to the lobby. He looked down at his watch.

"Only eleven thirty." He said with a short laugh. "So much excitement in such a small town."


	3. Chapter 3

Chapter III

After yet another long day at work, Carlisle made his way home in the dark. Now that he had the time, the thoughts that had only been buzzing slightly in his head, came into full prospective. Was Jasper innocent? If he was, then wouldn't he have come back? It was a mystery.

Carlisle was suddenly pulled from his thoughts when three deer came bounding across the road. He slammed on his brakes and let the three woodland creatures dash across his path. They didn't even seem to notice the car that stood nearly a foot away. Their frantic behavior didn't slip from Carlisle's notice.

"Hmm." He said in the privacy of his car. "What could have caused that?"

He then noticed a familiar scent floating in through his open window.

"Werewolves." He said looking out into the dense woods that lined the road. "Why were they here? They never come _here, _not this far…unless…" He suddenly thought of Victoria, or even Jasper. What if Jasper was in trouble? He didn't mind the werewolves getting Victoria, but not Jasper.

"I'd better check on the situation, just to ensure Jasper's safety." He said to his self. "It would be best."

He parked his car to the side of the road and locked it securely. He then took off into the woods, in the direction from which the deer had fled. Towards the scent. The tail of his white lab coat flapped behind him as he ran. He couldn't sense a vampire in the premises, perhaps they had escaped. Perhaps there was no vampire ever there. He considered all these possibilities, but only continued to move forward.

He stopped when the scent was the strongest. What he was about to do was a little dangerous, even for a vampire. A sudden movement caught his eye. Sure enough, Jacob Black emerged from a clump of trees and into the clearing that Carlisle stood in. His pants were torn into shredded, unidentifiable fragments of fabric and he wore no shirt or shoes. He seemed angry.

"What are _you_ doing here?" Jacob said after letting out a short growl.

"I was about to ask you the same thing." Carlisle said smoothly. There was no reason to be hostile.

"Searching for someone." He replied, clenching his teeth. He then looked to the side of him; a subtle look in his eyes gave away his earnest concern for something.

"Ah, I see. Have you by any chance seen any others of my kind around here?"

"Since you say so yes, I have, and you should take care of it before _we _do."

"Take care of what?"

"This creature that is causing us trouble. We've been trying to catch him for days, but we just keep losing him. He was even able to _speak_ to one of us and he still got away. I don't know what it is with you people, but this one was strange."

"_Jasper."_ Carlisle thought. "_How could you have been so ignorant?"_

"Did you feel a change in emotion when he spoke to you?" Carlisle asked the agitated werewolf.

"I don't know, it wasn't me he spoke to." Jacob replied, seeming to grow in anger, yet a sad sort of look clouded his eyes. "In fact, we can't find the guy he spoke to. He just disappeared."

"When?"

"A few days ago."

Carlisle paused for a moment. "How strange."

"What?" Jacob demanded.

"That your friend disappeared and one of my own, in the same tense of a few days. It seems a little strange."

"I'll say. Unless it was_ your_ guy who caused ours to disappear."

"Perhaps." Carlisle paused to think again. "Were you looking for a vampire just now?"

"Yes. At least I thought I was. I lost him a few miles back. It turned out I was only chasing deer."

"So you're almost positive that you _were _or _weren't _on the trail of a vampire."

"I guess I wasn't, because I lost what I thought was the scent a while back. It may just have been you I sensed."

"I see. Thank you for your help, I'd best be going now." Carlisle turned around to leave, but Jacob spoke again.

"What do you mean help?"

"I'm also trying to find someone." Carlisle replied vaguely before taking off back towards his car.

As he drove home, he continued to think about the conversation he had with Jacob Black.

"_If his friend disappeared a few days ago, then it couldn't have been Jasper…could it? He was here yesterday morning; it wasn't until the death that he disappeared. Perhaps the same factor contributed to both of their disappearance. Yet that wouldn't explain Alice's vision. Perhaps they are unrelated coincident. Yes, coincidence. Who was Jacob chasing then? I didn't sense anything, and apparently neither did him…at the moment. He may have been right; it could have been only me."_

The many possible explanations echoed in his mind as he drove. In order to maintain a quiet place to think, he drove aimlessly for a long period of time before he made his way home to the Cullen Mansion.

Upon entering the house, he was greeted by Esme, who seemed to be awaiting his arrival. She had a look of concern on her face, and Carlisle assumed what was on her mind. Now he was in for it.

"Carlisle, I'm glad your home." She said hugging him. He equally returned her embrace. She looked up at him, the concerned look still attached to her face.

"Why didn't you tell me about Jasper? I've been so worried." She said.

There it was, his assumption proved to be true. "I didn't want to worry you. I guess now it's too late." He smiled slightly.

"Have you heard anything from him?"

"No, but I trust he will return soon. He just needs some time alone, that's what I discussed with Edward."

Esme paused for a moment before replying. "Well, if you hear anything from him…"

"I'll tell you." He said, finishing her sentence. He then gave her a reassuring kiss.

"They always come to you first, even before each other." She said giving him an endearing smile. Carlisle observed how delicate she was, even for a vampire. He couldn't help but kiss her again. Another look of concern washed over her as she pulled back.

"Carlisle your eyes are so dark. You can't starve yourself." She said.

Carlisle sighed, and then smiled weakly. "You don't have to worry about it Esme, I'll take care of it."

"Soon?"

A sudden smile curved across his mouth. "Let's go now." He grabbed his companion's hands.

"Now?"

"Yes!"

"I guess, let's see if the others…"

"No, just us." Carlisle insisted, his dark eyes shinning in the delirious joy of the moment.

"Are you sure, just leave? Shouldn't we tell the others? Carlisle…." Before she could finish Carlisle began to pull her towards the front door. "I have my phone, we'll call them."

"If I could just tell them now…."

Impatient with her daunting, Carlisle swept her off the ground ending her sentence abruptly. Now the only sound was laughter as they disappeared into the woods, at a very fast rate.

Despite the happiness of the situation, the same questions plagued his mind. Yet he felt he owed Esme a single moment away from his stressful mind. The last thing he wanted was for her to worry any more about him.


	4. Chapter 4

Chapter IV

Carlisle and Esme returned just before dawn on Saturday morning. The starlings squawked in the trees above them, engrossed in primitive conversation, as the two strode to the door. Before entering a new scent washed over them.

"What's this? Were you expecting someone?" Carlisle asked his wife. She shook her head negatively.

"Maybe one of the others perhaps? That's odd, they didn't tell us…" She guessed. The scent was unmistakably a vampire, although it was one they had never encountered before. Esme reached for the door but Carlisle beat her to it. He was always insisting on holding the door open for her.

"Thank you." She said with a smile as he pulled himself in after her.

As they entered, a feeling of happiness washed over them. Carlisle dashed into the living room, hoping to see Jasper, but he was not there. A vampire with a delighting demeanor was sitting on their sofa, along with the others (minus Jasper of course). Carlisle looked over to Esme, to see that she was disappointed as well.

The visitor seemed to be a little older than Edward (in appearance). Carlisle observed him for a moment before asking any questions. The stranger held a notebook in his hands, along with a pen. Carlisle assumed him to be some kind of journalist, but his happy appearance seemed to contradict the usual prying attitude of a reporter. He had a yellowish-blond hair color and a strikingly handsome figure and visage, like many vampires. Yet there was one thing very different about this vampire, his eyes were colored a clear blue. It was so odd, that Carlisle couldn't help but stare as he wondered what had caused it. Never in his experience had he encountered a vampire with blue eyes. This physiological mystery puzzled him. Was he even a vampire? His scent was very subtle, but it did seem precisely vampire.

Once the entry of Esme and Carlisle was recognized the visitor rose and walked over to Carlisle.

"Dr. Carlisle Cullen I assume, if I'm at the right place." He said, shaking hands with the puzzled doctor. He had the hint of an Australian accent.

"Yes, I am. Might I ask your name?"

"Jack Moreau. I'm happy to meet you, I've read about some of your work. I'm so pleased to meet you."

"I'm pleased to meet you to." Carlisle responded. _"Might I ask what your business is here? This is quite, how should I put it…random." _

Edward rose and answered Carlisle's thoughts. "Mr. Moreau is here to talk to you about your most recent autopsy. He want's to cover it for his story."

"Well put." Jack said, flashing a brilliant smile.

"Ah, I see." Carlisle said. "If you wanted to cover the story about Joanna Cartlette, why don't you interview her parents?"

Jack frowned slightly. "Well, I haven't spoken to them just yet; I wanted to talk to you first."

"Very well then, as long as it is perfectly alright with them, I suppose I could tell you what I am permitted to tell." Carlisle responded. Although he knew little about Jack Moreau, he decided that he liked him. He seemed to be an enthusiastic and dedicated chap. However, it crossed his mind that maybe it was his "special ability" to seem so warm.

"I appreciate it Dr. Cullen. It's not for a big paper company or anything, only for my college campus news."

"Oh, I see what college?"

"Silbert University." Jack said. The "ert" was pronounced like "air", giving it a regal, French sounding quality. Dr. Cullen had heard of this college before.

"Ah, that's not too far from Seattle, it's a bit hidden though. I assume you chose it because of the rainy region." Carlisle said, assuming that his gust _was_ a vampire.

"Precisely. This is my second time going through college." Jack answered with half a smile. Apparently Carlisle's assumptions were true.

"Silbert has an excellent medical school; in fact, I have an intern who is a student there. Gregory Lawrence."

"Yes, I know, he told me."

Carlisle raised his eyebrow. He was surprised that such a laid back chap was friends with such an anal medical student. "What a coincidence." He said.

"It's a small school, you pretty much know everyone." Jack replied, with his charming smile. The Australian in his voice caused him to say "_eh_veryone."

"Your school is rather prestigious, is it not? You must be a gifted journalist."

"_Yeea_, I guess. I want to cover this story because…well it would be interesting to write about something dramatic in a small town. I mean, these places are pretty quiet."

"You'd be surprised." Alice said, adding a dash of sarcasm to the conversation. Carlisle nodded in agreement. He didn't say anything, for he didn't want any more trouble.

Carlisle allowed Jack to interview him, but made him promise to ask the parents before publishing anything. He agreed because he wanted to interview them as well. Once the interview was over, Jack prepared to leave.

"It was nice to meet you Dr. Cullen." He said cheerfully shaking his hand.

"It was a pleasure to speak with you as well."

"May I ask you a question?"

"Certainly."

"How are you comfortable being a doctor? You know, with all the blood. You must be out of your mind."

"Actually, I'm immune to it." Carlisle said with a smile. Jack stared blankly.

"Immune to it?"

"Yes, I'm afraid so. I feed from animals if that's what you want to know."

Jack nodded and smiled again. "That's quite a talent you've got."

"Thank you."

"I'd best be going, before it gets too bright." He headed for the door.

"You are welcome to come back any time!" Esme said before he left. She was always so compassionate. That is why Carlisle loved her so much. He was a kind chap though, he really was welcome back.

"I'll keep that in mind. You're so hospitable."

Everyone said goodbye to Jack except Edward. Carlisle noticed it right away.

"Edward." He said.

"I know what you're thinking, it's just…I don't know what that Moreau guy was thinking. I just don't trust him." Edward said, watching as a car that Carlisle hadn't noticed pulled out of the driveway.

"I understand your concern, but you couldn't read Bella's mind, and yet you trust her." Edward nodded his head slightly. "I guess you're correct, but I don't like it when I can't see someone's thoughts. Especially Bella, but that's what makes me love her, I have to actually _try _to please her."

Carlisle smiled and patted his son on the shoulder. "Now you are aware of how the rest of us poor males feel."

Carlisle kept Edward's feelings in mind, but he did like Jack Moreau. At least what he knew of him. He decided that it wasn't all that important, for there were other issues that needed his attention. Issues such as the well being of his missing son.

Carlisle proceeded to his office, where he could have a place to think, when his phone rang.

"Dr. Cullen." He said in his professional voice.

"It's me, Maryter, we've go another case of bacterial meningitis."

"My god! In just two days? How odd. Do you think they caught it from our most recent patient?"

"Doubt it, they would have shown up shortly after. I'm praying we aren't headed for an epidemic."

"That seems quite outrageous, but make sure you check the other members of the household."

"That's the thing, there aren't any. Not even a room mate. This man lived by himself. He was brought in by a friend, that's what worries me."

"Check the friend, and perhaps find out if the two patients were aquainted."

"I've already done so. They don't even know each other."

"Well then, if another case comes with in the next twelve hours, call me."

"Affirmative. I'll contact you right away."

"Alright." Dr. Cullen replied as both doctors hung up.

_"How odd. Two cases of bacterial meningitis in less than forty eight hours. Yet, that would seem like too much time if the two cases were related. Why must so many distressing things go on at once? I'll have it under control though. What about Jasper?"_

Before he could continue his train of thought, he was once again interrupted. Edward walked in to the office room. "Rosalie and Emmett went to go look for him. I figured he's not ready for me to confront him yet."

"I see." Carlisle replied seeing Edward's reason. He figured if he should mention the werewolf incident to him or not.

"What werewolf incident?" Edward said, curious and angry that he didn't know about it already.

Carlisle quickly recapped the circumstance.

"So do you think Black was chasing Jasper?" Edward said, frustrated.

"I'm not sure; I couldn't sense him, so I think Mr. Black was on a false lead."

"Who would put a werewolf on a false lead?"

"Perhaps it was an accident."

"Seems likely."

"Yet, it is rather strange, is it not."

"You don't think it's Victoria?"

"Actually, that thought did cross my mind. I'd be cautious about Bella if I were you."

"Of course. Speaking of Bella, I have to go retrieve her." Edward said as he looked to his watch and headed for the door.

"Alright then, I'll see you…"

"Around eight." Edward said before leaving.

Despite the fact that his son was a vampire, he still expected to see him home, especially with Jasper missing. "_Now what about Jasper…"_


	5. Chapter 5

Chapter V

Monday arrived quickly, and Carlisle arrived to work at his usual hour before dawn. He had come to no real conclusion to what really happened to Joanna Cartlette, but he knew it was strange. The figures didn't add up. The exact venom was found from the exact snake that was at the crime scene. However, after speaking with the Chief Swan Sunday, purely on accident, he found that a vampire was most definitely involved. Once in his office, Carlisle recalled the conversation.

"Dr. Cullen, I heard you did the autopsy on the….recently deceased girl."

"I did, there was hardly any blood in the body, only dried to her hair and neck. It must have been a gruesome scene."

Chief Swan knitted his eyebrows. "Well, actually, there was hardly any. Just a few drops here and there."

"I see." Carlisle said, convinced that a vampire was responsible. Either that or the snake was a blood-sucker, which is physiologically impossible for the species that was found. Yet, how does that explain the venom? Unless, the snake struck once the girl was already dead. Then why was it dead?

"Dr. Cullen?" Chief Swan asked, noticing his silence.

"Sorry, I was just thinking."

"Yea, that does seem pretty strange…." This time Chief Swan stopped. "Dr. Cullen, this may sound strange, but, what if someone cleaned it up?"

"Clean it? You don't mean….a murder?" Carlisle said, making himself sound naturally shocked. The truth was that it may have very well been a murder, and he knew this, but it wouldn't make any sense to the mortal he stood across from.

"It's just an idea, but the department is required to investigate everything that deals with deaths like these. Your reports confirmed that it was a snake bite, and loss of blood that killed her, right?"

"Yes."

Chief Swan glanced down at his watch. "I've gotta get going, but this conversation has been a real help. I'm no detective, but I like to help out with everything." He said shaking Carlisle's hand. Carlisle could see Swan's small reaction to the abnormal coolness of his skin.

Carlisle was broken from his recollections when a distinct and not so pleasant smell collided with him.

"Werewolves? In the hospital? Good God, this can't be good." He muttered to himself. He stored away his thoughts, once again, for some other time. A few moments later, sure enough, Jacob Black stormed into Dr. Cullen's office. Carlisle stood up behind his desk and motioned for the angry boy to shut the door.

"Is there something I can do for you Mr. Black?" He asked calmly.

"Yea, you can take care of your blood-sucking demon friends!"

"I am afraid I don't understand. Why don't you sit down?" He knew the boy would refuse, but it was worth the try.

"No, I just want to tell you that one of our own is dead! We know it was by one of _you_, and we aren't going to take this easily. As much as we hate you, we've left you alone, and now this?" He prepared to slam his fist on the edge of Carlisle's desk, but he stopped as a nurse walked past the room. Her foot steps echoed as she decended down the hall. Carlisle leaned to Jacob's direction.

"I understand your concern, but this is no place to discuss it. This is a hospital."

Jacob scowled, but maintained his composture the best he could. "What I'm saying is, I want _your kind_ to stay away from our land. Alright? We aren't going to take this again."

Carlisle could tell Jacob was actually working hard to control his anger. He could also tell that Jacob was very concerned, it showed in his eyes.

"There isn't much I can do. It wasn't a Cullen who killed your friend, if that's what you are proposing." Carlisle spoke earnestly, yet he couldn't be sure that his own statement was true of false. He was automatically looking for the best in Jasper, hoping it wasn't his son who had done these deeds.

Jacob nodded, still vexed. "I came to you because I can sense that you're the one they listen to. You have the most authority over _them_."

"Not in all cases, there are many vampires, and if there is another in the area, they usually find us, or we sense them coming. If they don't bother with us, we don't bother with them. I can try to help you, but I cannot control the behaviors of other vampires."

"I guess I could understand, but in case it's important to you, we saw a red-haired one." Carlisle nearly gasped. How did they not notice Victoria's presence? Perhaps she was too far away. "When did you see her?" Carlisle asked, he was frantic, but he spoke calmly.

"Last night."

"Very well. This vampire is a problem to us as well, not to mention Bella." Carlisle knew that Jacob would sympathize if he brought up Bella. Edward often talked of how much Jacob adored her. Jacob frowned in a more concerned way this time. "I have to go." He snapped. Jacob then headed for the door. He left hastily, and with out much response. Upon his exit, Gregory Lawrence walked in the door.

"What was that about?" He said, commenting on Jacob's mood of departure. Carlisle quickly made up an explanation.

"Psychology patient."

"I see. I wasn't aware that you worked with the psychology department as well. That one was a real case, no doubt." Gregory laughed at himself slightly.

Carlisle nodded, not wanting to lie. He wasn't lying though; he was only letting his intern believe what he wanted to. That wasn't _really_ a lie was it?

"I suppose we should get started. Since this is your first day, you may follow me through my routine, so you can see what this hospital is like." Carlisle said, changing the subject.

"Alright, should we get started then?" Gregory asked.

"Yes, in fact, I have a case to check in on right now. This is a rare one, but it's interesting."

The two headed off to the second floor, where they met Dr. Maryter.

"How is the patient recovering?" Carlisle asked.

"Well. We sent the other patient home yesterday morning; antibiotics were able to stop it in time. You have an intern?"

"Yes, this is Gregory Lawrence." Carlisle said as the two shook hands.

"Dr. Maryter. Nice to meet you." Dr. Maryter said.

"The case we've been working on was one of bacterial meningitis." Carlisle said, hoping his intern would find it interesting.

"I wouldn't expect that in such a small town." Gregory replied.

"Yes, but once it gets out a small town is more susceptible, people are closer together, which makes disease transmission more devastating." Carlisle explained. Gregory only nodded as they proceeded.

The day seemed longer for Carlisle while working with his intern. He was patient with the chap, but his presence didn't help his stress. Although he continuously kept a calm, professional composure, questions were filling his mind, mainly about Victoria.

As the Carlisle made his rounds in the clinic, he let his intern diagnose a few people. He did a good job finding the problem, but the intern's doctor- to- patient interaction skills needed tuning.

As Gregory proceeded diagnosing a patient, Carlisle's cell phone rang. Before setting it on silent he noticed it was Alice's number.

"I have to take this, I'll be right back." Carlisle said gently stepping outside the door. He answered quickly.

"Alice?"

"Yes, sorry to call you at work, but I've been having the same vision all day, I thought I should tell you now. It's sort of urgent."

"Yes?"

"I'm seeing Victoria, she's here."

"You're seeing her? Don't you usually see as though you were seeing through their eyes?"

"Yes, that's what's strange. I don't know what's going on with my senses, but I do know she's working on her revenge. She seems very angry."

Carlisle was silent for a moment. It was true, she was here. Perhaps her presence was linked to Jasper's disappearance. "Thank you for the warning, make sure Bella is safe, perhaps you should inform Edward."

"He's not here. Neither is Bella."

"What?"

"Bella's had a little accident; you'll probably see her soon." Alice laughed a little.

"I see. I've got to go, but I'll be home as soon as I can."

"Albright, see you then."

Carlisle snapped his phone shut at the sound of the dial tone, and rejoined his intern.

In the next clinic room, a young lady whom which Carlisle recognized right away was awaiting them. Bella sat on the paper covered examination table, holding her wrist. Carlisle glanced at the clock, noting that school must have ended moments ago. What Alice had said was true. Thoughts of pity and anxiety ran through him as he looked at her sitting so vulnerably. Her life was at risk, and Carlisle was happy to see her sitting safely in a hospital. Not that is was good; only, he knew she was safe in the premises.

"Hello Bella." He said.

"Hi Dr. Cullen." She replied.

"What have you done to your self just before graduation?" Carlisle joked.

"Actually, we were rehearsing for the graduation ceremony when I tripped…."

"Is this a regular patient, or are you two just really good friends?" Gregory asked in a sarcastic manner.

"Well…she is sort of regular…" Carlisle replied, recalling all of the events that caused Bella to end up in the hospital. He could see she was thinking the same thing.

"I'm his son's girlfriend." Bella said with a proud smile.

Gregory raised his eyebrows in astonishment as he looked to Carlisle. "You have a son? That age?"

"Yes. In fact…" Carlisle sensed Edward's presence down the hall. He waited a few moments, before the door to the room opened.

"This is Edward." Carlisle said. Edward acknowledged the intern as he handed Bella a bottle of water from the hospital cafeteria. An exchange of thoughts occurred as well. Carlisle's anxieties were now obvious to Edward. Carlisle saw a look of concern wash across Edward's face, but so quickly, that no human would have noticed.

Gregory opened his mouth to speak, clearly astonished. Before he said anything, Carlisle spoke again.

"I'll take this one, if you want to move on to the next room. I'll be there shortly."

He handed Gregory a clipboard and he left promptly.

"I don't like him." Edward said, hiding his newly found enlightenment.

"Let's not be judgmental." Carlisle replied as he picked up Bella's wrist.

"That's kind of hard when you can see what he's thinking."

"I feel like he says what is on his mind most of the time."

Edward nodded.

"This looks sprained; I'll wrap it up for you." Carlisle said to Bella, as Edward moved behind her. Carlisle then opened a cabinet and pulled out the materials he needed.

After Bella and Edward left, Carlisle went off to fine his intern. Fixing Bella's wrist had not taken very much time, so he found Gregory in the room next door, observing a cast being put on, then criticizing it. Carlisle pulled his intern out, in hopes of letting the orthopedic doctor do his job.

Carlisle kept an eye on the clock for the remainder of the day, anxious to get home and talk to Alice. When the moment finally came when he was released, he hastily (but cautiously) made his way home. Although he was brimming with anxiety, he forced a calm composure as always.


	6. Chapter 6

Chapter VI

Carlisle had returned home shortly after twilight. His conversation with Alice regarding a certain red headed vampire only presented him with more pondering. Where was this strand of disjointed facts going to unite? The conversation played in his mind as he spun slowly in his office chair.

"Do you think that Victoria has anything to do with Jasper's disappearance?" Carlisle asked Alice.

"I don't know. I never saw him in my visions of her."

"Yes, but maybe the visions are related."

"I doubt it. My visions are related to the eyes I am seeing it out of. That is, after they've made a decision to act. I don't understand why I am seeing Victoria, and not what Victoria is doing. It's all very confusing to me."

"I see." Carlisle's replied as he stared out the window in thought. The events must be related, but how?

"Perhaps Victoria was tired of chasing Bella, and decided to get back at us by taking Jasper." Alice frowned at Carlisle's thought.

"I wish Bella was not a part of this mysterious plot, but I saw her…Victoria is watching her, or will be watching her."

"My god." Carlisle said shaking his head. "We've got to find her, because I fear that if we don't, something terrible could happen."

"Yes, I agree."

"If Victoria has something to do with Jasper, then maybe she's had something to do with Joanna Cartlette's death. Perhaps there is an element to this that we are missing…perhaps she is keeping Jasper as collateral. Should we try and stop her in her attempts towards satisfying her revenge on Bella, she'd proceed in harming…or even killing Jasper."

"I don't know…we've never been so thrown off before though. I feel like there is something else. If Victoria is in fact in Forks, surely we would have known, before I had my visions."

"Well, your visions are probably telling you that she is not yet here, remember, she's only made up her mind to come. Perhaps, we can stop her before she gets started."

Alice nodded as she closed her eyes for a moment. "If we get going, maybe we could."

As Carlisle pondered over the possibilities, he was awakened from his reminiscing over the night's previous conversation by Edward and Alice entering his office.

"Any news?" Carlisle asked Alice.

"Yes, Victoria is close, and we need to stop her, before she starts, like you suggested."

Carlisle nodded and got up from his chair. "I couldn't agree more. Should we get the others?" Alice pursed her lips for a moment. "I talked to Rosalie a few hours ago; she and Emmett won't be back for a few days."

"Hmm. They didn't tell me they were leaving." Carlisle said pensively.

"They were in a rush. Rosalie was feeling a bit overwhelmed…"

"I know how she feels." Carlisle mumbled softly.

"I'll go get Emse; she knows what's going on." Alice said as she parted. "I'll meet you outside." Edward prepared to follow his sister, but stopped.

"You've been thinking about the 1812 overture a lot lately." Edward said with a smile, trying to lighten the mood.

"Thinking of classical music is as soothing as listening to it." Carlisle replied.

"Does Bella know about her current situation?"

"No. I decided it would be best to not tell her. Graduation is tomorrow, and I don't want her to be worked up." Edward said as the two walked downstairs.

"Good choice."

Esme and Alice waited by the door. Everyone appeared so calm, yet there was an air of slight discomfort, because no one truly knew what they were going to face. As the small party of four stepped outside into the night air, a familiar scent washed over them. It was reminiscent of Victoria.

"She's here." Alice said. She closed her eyes momentarily, tracing the steps of the notorious red-harried villain. "North, we have to go north. She's alone and she's close."

Quickly, the four of them jumped into Carlisle's car and traveled towards the scent, like a group of hunting lions. They stopped at a trail entrance, one that was familiar to Edward. "She must know were coming." Edward said, making a reference to the familiar trail that lead to a certain meadow. "She's leading us on, I don't trust this." Edward said in a low voice to Carlisle.

"We have to take a look at the least; it may ease our thoughts to know where she stands. Besides, we outnumber her." Carlisle responded in an attempt to calm Edward's nerves. It was an odd placement. It seemed staged and peculiar, but why would she come alone? It was strange, and Carlisle was very well aware, yet he wanted to investigate.

The trees moaned as the wind swept briskly through their ripening leaves. It was a crisp night, foreshadowing the warm summer weathers to come. Before setting off on the trail, Carlisle turned to Esme.

"Perhaps you and Alice should wait here, just for precautions. There is most definitely something odd about this, and I would suggest that we divide." Carlisle said in his regular earnest tone. Esme nodded, and motioned for Alice to follow her.

"Call me if you see anything else Alice." Carlisle said as he set off on the trail.

As Edward and Carlisle ran swiftly towards the smell, they noticed that they were moving in the opposite direction from the meadow. What was even stranger was that the once strong scent suddenly began to fluctuate. It fell increasingly, and then it would rise again. The two stopped at a small clearing that sat adjacent to the trail. The scent seemed to stop, and the source was blatantly obvious.

"Good God." Carlisle said as he observed the scene before him. Edward didn't respond. Lying on the leaf-littered floor of the clearing was the body of Victoria. She was dead.

"Why is her body still here?" Edward asked; a tone of frustration rose in his voice. "Shouldn't it…combust or something?" Carlisle bent down to further to observe the body. "We just caught her scent; this tells us that she died only moments ago. Earlier, when the scent began to fluctuate, that was the point in which she was attacked. In a few minutes she will, as you put it, 'combust'."

"Who do you suppose is responsible? I mean, I'm glad she's dead, but I want to know who beat us to it!" Edward said clutching his fist. "I'm sure Bella will be glad to know she's gone."

Carlisle sat in thought for a moment, thoughts that Edward took part in. Was it possibly Jasper who took the glory of defeating Victoria? If so, then why? Were their previous assumptions correct? It was again another tangled knot of mystery. After the moment of reflection Carlisle glanced again at the body which was beginning to disintegrate. Before the desiccation was complete, Carlisle noticed something, an object that was protruding from the side of Victoria's arm. It was an empty syringe needle. Carlisle quickly retrieved it before the body became nothing but a pile of ash.

"Edward, I fear this may be a slight bit more complicated than I had suspected."

"How so?" Edward said, observing the empty needle.

"There may be someone in our small town who has figured something out, about _us_." Edward raised his eyebrows. "Why do you think that?"

"This is a needle from my hospital; this sort of syringe is stored only in the pathology lab, meaning only someone who works there could have taken it. Also, if you noticed, there were not bite marks on Victoria; I took an accurate observation of her when I first saw her body. This shows that perhaps, a vampire didn't kill her."

"What does a needle have to do with the death of a vampire; you can kill a vampire by injecting them with human antibiotics, or what ever it is that you keep in those needles." Edward stated. "This is completely out of the range of what we had suspected! There is no way!"

"Edward, how do you kill a vampire?"

"Burn them, or have another vampire kill them." Edward responded in a frustrated manner, the indirect probabilities were enough to jostle even his own brilliant mind.

"I think, this is only a theory, but perhaps, someone found another way."

"That's impossible!"

"Nothing is impossible in science.

The two stood silently in the small clearing, mentally sorting out the possibilities to the unusual situation that was set in front of them.

"_I was nearly sure that this mystery couldn't get anymore complex. I stand corrected…" _Carlisle thought, as he gazed into the trees in deep thought. If it was someone from work, it had to be someone close to him. For, an extremely small label read _Cullen _in fine print, indicating the cabinet it was to be stored in. The small clue seemed to bring to him new ideas, perhaps the answer was closer than he thought.


	7. Chapter 7

Chapter VII

As Edward and Carlisle made their way out of the woods, Carlisle thought about how odd this death appeared. At this point, he felt as though he had been led in a circle. Now he was back to where he had started. Victoria was dead, so that could mean she had nothing to do with Jasper. A dreadful thought presented its self in Carlisle's mind. Could Jasper be dead? What if this mysterious vampire killer, who managed to leave no scent, had already killed Jasper? The thought was horrid.

When Edward and Carlisle emerged from the woods, they met up with their family, and recalled to them the events that had taken place in the woods. Both women were astounded.

"Why?" Esme said in a confused and concerned manner, obviously fearing the same thing abut Jasper that Carlisle had.

"We don't know for sure." Carlisle said. "Though, I think I've got a close idea." As he spoke, the sound of a car coming down the road caused the small party to quickly assemble. The car came into view and then stopped next to them. The familiar and friendly figure of Jack Moreau stepped out. He seemed concerned. "I apologize for interrupting, but I assume that you sensed something odd this morning." He said to Carlisle who was still standing outside the car. "Yes, in fact, I have reason to believe that there is something going on in our small town that could put us at risk. I can't really explain, but I advise you to be careful."

"What happened?" Jack asked.

"We found a vampire dead, and in a very suspicious manner." Carlisle replied, being careful not to reveal too much information.

"Was it that red-haired one?" He asked. Carlisle raised his eyebrow. "How did you know that?" He noticed that jack's eyes portrayed genuine concern and his suspicious were temporarily arrested.

"I saw her earlier this morning, I was out…." He stopped and looked at Alice for a second, then continued. "I saw her, I had been sensing something, and I matched that scent with her. I didn't pay much attention to her, until now…"

"I see." Carlisle replied, scanning Jack's composure, and searching for signs of deception. It seemed clear, he appeared perfectly honest.

"You knew she was here?" Edward said a tad bit more harshly than Carlisle approved of.

"Well, yes, but I wasn't aware that she was important to you, I assumed you were expecting her, because I wasn't." Jack said. He was then interrupted by Alice.

"We were expecting her. I believe I had already seen her by that point." Her tone was almost defensive. This struck Carlisle as odd. It seemed as though the two were more acquainted than he had thought.

"Anyway, I only wanted to see if you noticed anything….I wanted to see if everything was alright."

"We are all very well, and we appreciate your concern." Carlisle said. "If you notice anything odd, make sure to tell us."

"I will." He replied. "If you have any more important information that might be to my benefit, let me know."

"We will." Alice said assuring. Carlisle looked to Alice as the concerned blue-eyed vampire got into his car and drove off.

"Alice, we probably shouldn't give information to him if we don't know for sure that he is on our side." Carlisle cautioned.

"He is on our side, I'm sure. Didn't you say that it was a human who is responsible for this? I think he should be as well informed as we are." Alice said, holding a calm composure.

"It appears as though the two of you have been acquainted, you seem very sure." Carlisle said.

"We've talked; I met him on accident as I was hunting, the day after he interviewed you. We went together, and I had the chance to get to know him a little better. It's nice to meet someone kind, especially in a time like this." Alice replied, fully confident of her previous affaires with this mysterious blue-eyed vampire.

"I see. I think he is an agreeable chap, but there are some things about him that I don't understand." Carlisle said.

"Like what?" Alice replied.

"I can barely sense him, and his eyes…what a strange presentation. It is only a suspicion, I have others. I only choose not to leave any liable suspects out of the full view." Carlisle said. Alice nodded. "I understand, but I trust him."

The Cullen party of four returned to the house and Carlisle left for work. His thoughts were actively processing the events that had taken place that morning.

"_It seems rather odd, that Jack Moreau would appear so suddenly, after Victoria's death..."_ Carlisle thought. He took the situation into neutral speculation. Jack was a vampire, so perhaps he feels endangered by the death of another vampire. Perhaps his abilities allowed him to sense distress, he appeared very honest. The other option was that it was he who commented the crime. This idea seemed a little hard for Carlisle to believe himself. However, there was hardly a scent at the crime scene, making it almost impossible to select the best choice.

When Carlisle arrived at the hospital, it was exactly five o'clock in the morning. He headed inside to his pathology lab beneath the hospital and began to examine a small drop of liquid that was left inside the syringe needle. This both enlightened him and surprised him. Under the microscope, the liquid appeared to be venom like substance. Its viscosity, however, was higher than that of any venom he had seen before. Despite its slight viscous structure, it remained in the general form of a liquid. It was strange. The substance seemed man made, yet there was one thing about it that puzzled him. The venom had a slightly vampire scent. Carlisle was able to pick this up while he was alone in the lab, which was slathered in disinfectants daily. The clean, empty room allowed him to find the scent he had overlooked earlier. The second thing he noticed was a very small piece of bacteria that was unfortunately familiar to him. A trace of the very same bacterial meningitis that had plagued the lives of two of his patients sat right before him. Who ever had made the concoction was carrying bacterial meningitis. Either they were acquainted with one of the two infected patients, or they worked with in the hospital. A random appearance of the same strain was almost impossible.

Carlisle sat back in his chair for a moment to link all of the new information together. He had a few reasons why he thought the person who had formed this substance was human, despite the slightly vampire scent. Someone may have found a way to kill a vampire, possibly by modifying snake venom to resemble that of a vampire. It sounded absurd, but the evidence provided him with reason to believe it was true. Everything that was happening around him was no coincidence. Jasper was missing for a reason, the recently deceased girl, Joanna Cartlette was dead for a reason, Victoria was dead for a reason, the werewolves were angry for a reason, and the reason seemed to be related. The newly found evidence gave Carlisle a seemingly clear idea of who was responsible for Victoria's death. The reason and the motive though, were unclear to him. His logical guess was someone close to him, who had access to the very lab he sat in. The question was, why.

Carlisle looked up at the clock, it was now seven. He had spent two hours running tests over his newly found evidence. In this time, he had formed a theory that his intern was a liable suspect responsible for Victoria's death. The evidence proved this theory to be true. Gregory had access to the pathology lab, for it was part of his internship. He must have taken the sterile needle for a reason. The same thing still remained unanswered, why did he do it?

Carlisle left the pathology lab and headed upstairs to his office, where he would meet his intern. He would interrogate the possible suspect in casual conversation. As Gregory Lawrence entered the office, Carlisle sat collected at his desk. He took a quick observation of his intern, looking for any sign that could back up his theory. At first he seemed very normal, but Carlisle noticed that Gregory was drinking a larger cup of coffee than usual. This could mean a number of things, but the first thing that Carlisle thought of was that if a human was walking in the woods before dawn, most likely, they would be tired. He kept this thought in mind, but was sure not to overlook any other possibilities. The second thing that caught his eye was that there was a very small hole on the pocket of his lab coat. Any human would have overlooked this small detail, but it seemed to be the same diameter as the point of the needle. These observations pointed very strongly towards Carlisle's assumptions.

"Good morning Mr. Lawrence." Carlisle said smoothly.

"Good morning." Gregory replied.

"I just have one question before we get started today." Carlisle said, pulling out a file folder full of patient records.

"Alright."

"Were you by any chance in the pathology lab last night, I seem to have left my favorite pen in there, and I couldn't find it this morning. It's odd how such miniscule changes can affect someone." Carlisle said casually, hoping that his intern would fall into his freshly thought up trap.

"I didn't see it." He responded quite automatically. Carlisle could detect a sign of regret in Gregory's face after he admitted to his entry in the lab. He was clever, and knew that he had given away an important piece of information.

"That's too bad, none of my other pens write as smoothly." Dr. Cullen replied as he stood up and made his way to the door.

"To let you know, I will be leaving early today. It's my son's graduation. I think you will be able to manage." Carlisle said to the intern.

"Alright." Gregory replied. He seemed tired, usually he was energetic. This only complimented Carlisle's theory more clearly.

"_I think I've got my man, but does he connect with anything else besides Victoria?" _Carlisle thought as he led his suspect down the hall to his first patient of the day. Another thought crossed his mind. "_If it was indeed Gregory who was responsible for the strange concoction, then it is likely that he is carrying bacterial meningitis."_

**Author's note: I will be on holiday for the next two weeks, so I will not be able to put up another chapter until then. Please continue reading when I get back! Thank you! **


	8. Chapter 8

Chapter VIII

At noon Carlisle left the hospital to make his way to Edward's graduation ceremony. He had conveniently parked in a shaded spot so that his exit would not draw unwanted attention as the sun shed its bright rays at high noon. As Carlisle drove towards the Forks convention center, a spacious facility that was commonly used for large gatherings, he thought about how Edward had already graduated from high school once or twice. Although it had been done before, Carlisle couldn't help being proud of his son. As Carlisle entered the facility, he found his way to the largest room. It was large enough to substitute as a theater. He quickly found his family, but was surprised to see someone else. Alice was talking to Jack Moreau, who was sitting next to her. She had invited him no doubt. Rosalie sat on the other side of Jack, with Emmet next to her. He saw an empty seat for himself next to his wife.

"I see we have a guest." Carlisle said to Esme as he sat down.

"Yes, Alice invited him. I'm glad he came, because Alice has been rather upset and worried over Jasper, and I think it's good that she has someone to talk to. I've been worried also, to an extreme extent, but it puts me at ease to see Alice more comfortable."

"This is true." Carlisle said looking over at them. "No one has been quite the same this past week. Everyone has agonized over Jasper's disappearance." Carlisle was interrupted by a voice that rang from a microphone on the stage. A woman who announced herself as vice principle began to speak.

"Before we begin our commencement this afternoon, I feel it is necessary to speak a few words of memorial in honor of our late valedictorian, Joanna Cartlette. We have all been shocked, depressed and crushed by her sudden death. She was a brilliant student, and she committed so much of her time to the benefit of our school and our town." Some people in the room had begun to tear as the vice principle spoke.

"Her parents have so gratefully prepared a scholarship in her name, to one of our students. I would like to thank them now for this kind notion." People began to clap as the vice principle came from the stage and handed an envelope and flowers to the Cartlette's who sat in the front row. There was a short embrace, followed by tears. The vice principle made her way back to the stage, slightly red in the face with eyes clouded with tears, and stood next to the principle who was going to speak next.

"Even with this tragedy, we want to make this a memorable day, and remind ourselves of all of the things Miss Cartlette accomplished. She would have wanted this to be a happy occasion." As the principle continued, he slowly switched the subject back to commencement, in a time frame of nearly fifteen minutes. He seemed to be a long winded speaker. However, the thought of Joanna sat in Carlisle's mind, for it reminded him of the predicament that Jasper was in. Perhaps he had intended on missing commencement if he was in fact the girl's killer. It seemed almost impossible, but Alice had claimed to see it. Carlisle shook the thought from his head and focused back on the stage. A student had begun to speak about the fabulous years the class had and such.

Carlisle could tell that Alice was thinking about Jasper by looking at her. She had an apprehensive look in her eyes that she had possessed for the entire time that Jasper had been missing. It only seemed to be eased away when she was around this Moreau character. Right now, however, it was back, only because of the incident that had just been discussed.

About two hours in to the ceremony, Carlisle noticed a woman that was sitting across from him was not looking so well. She had a feverish look to her and she was bent down slightly sipping from a cup of water. She handed the water to what seemed to be her husband. Then, Carlisle noticed a purple rash that exposed it's self on her lower neck and upper back, which was visible in the spring time dress she was wearing. Carlisle pulled his hand through his hair in slight frustration. He stood up and made his way to her with out disrupting the ceremony. The husband looked at him for a moment then spoke. "Can I help you?"

"Actually, I think you may want to take your wife out of here for a moment, because if my assumptions are correct, she is about to vomit." Carlisle said urgently.

The man took one look at his wife, who was extremely pale and feverish. He looked back to Carlisle, then stood up and led his wife quickly from the room. Carlisle followed. The moment they stepped through the door, sure enough, the woman leaned over a trash can that was placed next to the door and vomited. As she leaned over, the rash was more visible.

"Sir, I know this may sound odd, but I'm a doctor and your wife has meningococcal meningitis, and she needs to be taken to the hospital immediately for treatment." Carlisle said in his smooth and calm, yet urgent doctor voice. The man looked at him in a bewildered manner.

"What?"

"I'm perfectly honest; you should be checked and given antibiotics also."

"Alright?"

Carlisle scanned the man's face for any symptoms. The woman was luckily in an early stage. Where had these bacteria come from? This was about his fourth patient with meningococcal meningitis. This was not a disease one sees every day. Suddenly a thought came over him. He walked through the door in to the theater like room, and noticed a few tables set up at the back of the room that held refreshments. By the look of the trash cans that stood near the tables, he assumed that a few of the refreshments had been taken before the ceremony started.

"_This is why schools should use prepackaged goods for these kinds of events." _He thought as he scanned the room. In a far corner, he noticed a man getting up and walking very quickly to one of the exit doors. Carlisle went back into the enter hall and pulled out his cell phone.

"Dr. Maryter." The voice on the other end said.

"Dr. Maryter, I need you to get the other doctor's ready because we are going to have quite a few patients today that will need treatment."

"What? Dr. Cullen, what's going on?"

"I think we are on the edge of a meningitis outbreak."

"Do you mean to tell me that this meningitis thing has spread?! Where are you?"

"At my son's graduation, expect quite a few people for treatment. We'll need to quarantine this area if I see more than a few cases. I have to go now."

"Alright."

Carlisle hung up right as Esme emerged from the room.

"Carlisle, what are you doing?" She said in a slightly cross manner.

"We have an emergency." He said in his regular calm yet concerned manner. He always kept his composure.

"What do you mean?"

"I believe there has been an out break of meningococcal meningitis, and I need to do some observing, and then get this place quarantined." Carlisle walked over to the door to the commencement room and looked in again. This time he noticed a mother leading a small child towards the door. Due to the look of a group of people from where they had come, the child had already vomited. He closed the door and made his was to the mother before she entered the bathroom, and looked the child over. A purple rash told him his assumptions were correct. He gave the woman his advice on getting straight to the hospital and both getting checked. If this got any worse, it seemed like it may get to be a little more than Dr. Cullen could handle. Quarantine was his best bet. He pulled out his phone and made some arrangements.

The commencement had ended while Carlisle was talking to officials at the hospital, and people had begun to enjoy the refreshments that Carlisle assumed to be contaminated. Calmly and smoothly he informed the principle what was going to happen, just as health officials began to arrive.

"_This will be quite a scene." _Carlisle thought as he headed to his car. He retrieved his bag and reentered the building. It was going to be a very long day.


	9. Chapter 9

Chapter IX

The meningitis outbreak had consumed the entire day and much of the night. Carlisle had included his intern in the experience, giving him the small job of testing for inflamed lymph nodes. Mr. Lawrence seemed rather annoyed about receiving such a small task, but Dr. Cullen didn't want him to distract his own work. It also served as a nice outlet for some of the lad's hubris.

The convention center contained nearly three hundred people. Each person had to be tested. Once this highly stressful day was over, Dr. Cullen retired to his office at the hospital, where he could solemnly think about his other troubles. He glanced up at the clock, it was almost midnight. He had intentionally stayed that night, because he wanted to be able to relieve the human doctors who were tired from the intensity of the day's previous events.

Dr. Cullen leaned back in his chair and began to go over the events that had occurred before the outbreak. Was his intern guilty? Better yet, was he dangerous? The fact that he had retrieved the needle at Victoria's crime scene, gave him the idea that perhaps Gregory could be responsible for other things. Out of random, Carlisle decided he needed music to aid his thought. He got up form his chair, and walked over to his CD player in his office. He went through his convenient office collection of classical music, and found that his favorite Mozart recording was missing, and he was in the mood to hear Symphony No. 40 in G Minor. His memory told him that it had been left in the pathology lab.

Dr. Cullen entered the lab, and successfully grabbed his CD. Then a thought came upon him. There had been a large block of time where he had been absent from the hospital that day, leaving his intern to fend for himself. He walked over to one of his equipment cabinets and unlocked it. This was the cabinet he kept his sterile needles in. He was not surprised to find that two more were missing. He closed the cabinet and locked it. He made a mental note to have a conference with his somewhat untrustworthy intern tomorrow. Just out of curiosity, he turned to a glass chemical cabinet across from the latter. He unlocked it, and quickly observed that out of the hundred of so bottles, a bottle of Paracetamol was sitting right in the front row. "This is peculiar…" Dr. Cullen mumbled to him self as he left the lab. Paracetamol or otherwise known as acetaminophen was a drug commonly used as a fever reducer or pain reliever. It was peculiar because drugs like that did not belong in a chemical cabinet of a pathology lab. The drug had been misplaced, and Dr. Cullen surmised that this had been no accident.

When Dr. Cullen arrived at his office, to his surprise, Edward was waiting for him. "Is there something wrong?" He asked his son.

"I just wanted to talk to you, it was a little hard, you know, with the outbreak today. I guess, yesterday." Carlisle glanced at the clock; it was twelve thirty in the morning.

"Anyways…." Edward stopped. "What does acetaminophen have to do with anything?" Edward, as usual had read Carlisle's thoughts. The doctor still lingered on the subject of the misplaced drug.

"Just an incident I just discovered. I haven't told you about my recent assumptions yet have I? Well, the needle that I found at the scene of Victoria's death belonged to me. Someone took it from my lab, of course, I should suspect my intern."

"I didn't trust him to begin with." Edward said harshly.

"Edward, I hate to say you seldom trust anyone, but I do respect your opinion. I would never have suspected that a student who is in a trusting environment would have defied the authority and taken advantages of the resources. What worries me more is what I found in the syringe needle it's self." He paused and let his thoughts of the specimens he saw under the microscope for Edward to comprehend.

"So, you think that your intern has created some kind of weird science project that just happens to kill vampires?" Edward questioned with annoyed frustration in his voice.

"It's not possible; I hate to disagree with you…." Edward said softening his tone.

"I understand, it's only a theory. It would be the only thing to explain what happed to Victoria's body. The combustion was unnatural, at least compared to what I have seen. I'm beginning to wonder……" Carlisle stopped, and in the process stopped his train of thought. It was a little trick he had picked up after living with Edward for so long. He was the only one in the Cullen household who could maintain control over his own thoughts, so far.

"How do you suppose the acetaminophen came to be in your lab?" Edward said breaking the silence.

"My theory is that possibly, Mr. Lawrence acquired the drug beforehand. He must have become distracted by someone, or something. He was then forced to store it away and come back to get it later. My guess would be, when I called him in to aid in the outbreak, he had to leave it in a place where he could get it later."

Edward nodded. "That sounds good Mr. Holmes, but how did he get the keys, not to mention the drug its self?"

"Elementary my dear Watson." Carlisle said with a smile. "You see I leave a spare set of keys in my top drawer." Carlisle walked behind his desk and opened a small compartment of his desk. "You see, he is observant. He saw me put them here once before. He's a sneaky character. I never would have guessed. As for the acetaminophen, I'm sure he found a way; it's such a common drug. I assume he used a prescription."

"If this is such a common drug, why did he need to go out of his way to get it?"

"You see, the form he obtained is for extreme pain relief. It can also be known as Tylenol 3. It can only be prescribed, and in a certain dose. This can be deadly if overdosed; in fact it is often considered a poison."

Edward nodded again. "I assume you are going to talk to him."

"That is for sure. His 'crimes' are not permitted in a hospital setting, and should not go over looked. If it wasn't for that, I could see potential in him. However, I feel that his personality needs molding." He smiled again slightly. "Is that all you wanted to talk about?"

Edward frowned. "Actually, I was just wondering if you had any more ideas about Jasper. It's been nearly a week, we can't just keep putting it off and act like he's just going to show up out of nowhere."

"You have a point, but there isn't much we can do. I hate to say that, and I'm very worried, but I feel as though every thing ended up …well, coming down at once." Carlisle rested his hand on his desk. "Perhaps I will gain some valuable 'thinking' time back tonight."

"So, you are not coming home?" Edward asked.

"I think I can get more done here." Carlisle pointed to a large stack of folders, overflowing with papers.

Edward gave an agreeing sound and headed for the door. He was gone shortly after.

Once Carlisle was alone he put in his Mozart and, in a way, relaxed in thought before beginning his work.

He had a few ideas measured out in his mind. Jasper seemed to be linked to the mishaps with the werewolves. Carlisle remembered that Jacob Black had distinctly described the scent as slightly vampire. He recalled that Black seemed unable to tell, like the scent was _almost_ human. Which was odd, because werewolves have such keen senses. Could the untrustworthy intern be linked to this chain of events? Was he a danger to vampires? Worse yet, did he know of the Cullen's secret which they had worked so hard to keep undercover? In a few hours time, Carlisle was able to search his way through his problems and decide what steps he was going to take next as well as complete all of the papers he was given. The first thing was to expose Mr. Gregory Lawrence, and expelled his internship if the actions were indeed as Carlisle believed them to be.

The next day Carlisle sat at his desk, waiting for his intern to enter the room. As Gregory stepped inside, he knew something was up. The awkward silence forced him to sit down opposite the doctor. Carlisle noticed a slight loss of color in the young lad's face. However, he maintained his proud disposition and tried to appear careless.

"You wanted to see me?" He said. Dr. Cullen detected a slight tone of unease that was quickly masked by his efficient and well trained arrogance. He even smiled slightly.

"Yes, I did. In fact, I have a few questions for you."

"Go on."

Dr. Cullen paused for a moment. He was indeed going to continue, he only wanted to pull some anticipation from Mr. Lawrence. An awful trick, but it seemed slightly amusing at the moment. "_Enough!"_ Carlisle thought to himself.

"I hate to be so blunt, but, I feel as though you might know something about my missing syringe needles in the pathology lab." Just as Dr. Cullen expected the intern turned slightly red.

"I've no idea."

Dr. Cullen arched his eyebrow. "I don't want to be unfair, but I have gathered certain evidence that leads to you in particular. You can prove me wrong, certainly, I may be wrong…." He paused.

"You think _I_ stole from your pathology lab? That's ridiculous! Isn't it possible for another one of the pathologists to take them? You have no proof!" Gregory began to raise his voice, and his face began to flush. A defensive sign for sure. This was not going so well for him, but it was going just as planned for Dr. Cullen. Denial and aggression were the first steps to confession.

"The other pathologists have their own materials, and they would ask if they needed some, you see, they need to be counted so that they can be replaced properly. We never use the same one twice….."

"So it really doesn't matter if a few are taken?" He asked.

"Is this a confession?" Dr. Cullen asked. There was a long and intense pause between the two. Dr. Cullen hardened his face; he had been handling this too softly.

"It is important that you tell me if it was you who took them because on the one I recovered I found meningococcal meningitis bacteria in side of it, and should it go untreated, you could spread it…"

"Wouldn't I have broken out by now?" Gregory questioned.

"There was only a small bit, but I still find it vital that you tell me the truth." Another awkward pause followed. The intern pursed his lips, and his face remained slightly flushed. He exhaled loudly then began to speak. "I did take them."

Carlisle suppressed a smile, his calmness proved well in situations like this. If the person being questioned feels threatened, they will draw back and fight with aggressive defense. As for meningitis, it would be harmless, if Gregory had remembered correctly; he was tested and treated yesterday.

"Do you know what this means Mr. Lawrence? What you have done was unauthorized replacement of medical equipment."

"You will have to report me, and expel me as your intern. I knew it wasn't worth it…" He said in a slight mumble.

"May I ask why you needed these? I would have given them to you if it were for a good reason." For some reason, Dr. Cullen felt as though he was scolding a child who had stolen a cookie before dinner, or some other minuscule affair. He did, however, convey the severity of the problem.

"It was nothing, a friend of mine…well…he sort of bribed me." Gregory bowed his head shamefully. It was the first time that Dr. Cullen had seen his intern experience some sort of humility.

"_I shouldn't expect that a medical student should need any money from something as minuscule as a bribery…let alone…really need that extra money at all."_ Dr. Cullen thought. Honestly, he felt as though he wasn't getting the full story. In this brief moment, Gregory had clasped his head with his hands and leaned forward slightly.

"It wasn't worth it. He just seemed so convincing." He said softly.

"You cannot continue your internship here Mr. Lawrence." Dr. Cullen said making eye contact with Gregory as he sat up.

"I understand."

"I'm going to transfer you."

"What?" Mr. Lawrence exclaimed.

"I'll be watching your records though, and if anything suspicious shows up again, I'll report you." Dr. Cullen said sternly.

As much as he tried, he could not bring himself to heartlessly deny this student of his medical career. This was a huge blow to his hubris, but now he was slightly exposed to shame. Perhaps he would learn form this and perhaps he wouldn't, but Carlisle couldn't let him be completely disgraced for good. Despite his kind action, Carlisle did not receive the evidence that he wanted. He didn't know for sure whether Gregory was a vampire killer or if it was someone else. Who was this friend of his that bribed him to steal from his mentor? This was his next step in solving the puzzle.

"Mr. Lawrence, before you are dismissed, I'd like to know what it was that your friend wanted to do with three syringe needles and a bottle of acetaminophen."

Gregory's face darkened. "How did you know about that? You're still letting me off?"

"Don't make it sound so easy, I have contacts. You should mind your manner Mr. Lawrence. By the way, you still haven't answered my question." Gregory paused for a moment and exasperated slightly.

"Honestly, I don't know. He's a science student also, I guess he needed sterile pathology needles….and acetaminophen…I was wrong to get it for him."

"_Yes! He's admitting his mistake!"_ Dr. Cullen thought.

"Are you aware of where I found one of these needles?" Dr. Cullen said.

Gregory shook his head. "I honestly haven't the slightest idea."

"So you ran errands for unauthorized personnel, risking a nasty scar on your medical career, with out even knowing what the materials were being used for."

"Like I said, the guy was convincing."

"I see." Carlisle said an idea blossoming in his mind. "You are dismissed; I will contact your professor and alert them of your transfer. I won't say anything about this incident, but you will not be let off by anyone else. Doctors are very observant, and will notice anything out of place, especially a pathologist."

"I understand."

"Very good." Dr. Cullen said as he bid good bye to his short-term-intern.

Once the chap was gone, Dr. Cullen thought about his new idea, and how it might affect many of those around him, especially his family. In fact, it was a very dangerous thought….


	10. Chapter 10

Chapter X

After dismissing his faulty intern, Carlisle thought over what he had said. Who was this suspicious character who was taking advantage over his friend's resources? It all seemed quite strange. As much as Carlisle tried to put Gregory Lawrence out of his troubles, he always seemed to reenter. There was a possibility that Mr. Lawrence was actually lying, but what was his motive? He never even received his acetaminophen, but why did his so called "friend" need it? It was troublesome to think that he had let a man off who may be trying to attempt to poison somebody. There seemed to be evidence that the "somebody" could be a vampire. Then again, why would a vampire need a pain killer?

Dr. Cullen pushed the thoughts away for a moment, and decided he would further investigate the hidden agendas of Gregory Lawrence. Of course, this had to be done on his own time, for his real job needed his attention. Dr. Cullen grabbed a few folders and his clip board then headed out of his office. As he approached the conference room, he noticed Dr. Maryter in a somewhat frustrated state.

"Is there something wrong Dr. Maryter?" Dr. Cullen asked.

"The same woman has been coming back to the clinic claiming that my diagnostic work is wrong, she doesn't think that he son has mono. Sometimes parental opinions really irritate me." Dr. Maryter ended in a harsh statement.

"You simply can't blame them my friend, they mean well." An idea suddenly exposed its self in Carlisle's mind. "What were his symptoms?"

"Now _you_ are evaluating me? Good God."

"No, no, not at all, I just have a theory." Dr. Cullen's smooth tones and innocent jesters were hard to argue with. He could tell that his co-worker had experienced a tough time lately with the outbreak. He was a bit cranky.

"You always have a theory don't you." Dr. Maryter said a little bit softer. His frustration was wearing down. "Teenagers get mono so often, but don't think I didn't check for other things." Dr. Maryter handed a folder to Dr. Cullen. "All of the information is in there; in fact the woman is probably downstairs right now."

"Take this then, its diagnostic work." Carlisle said exchanging his case for Maryter's. Dr. Cullen thanked his coworker then headed down to the clinic. He reviewed the information in the elevator.

"_Flu like symptoms, extreme drowsiness and extreme…sleeping_." Dr. Cullen thought as he read the diagnostic notes to himself. As he arrived on the first floor, he sat down in an empty clinic room to think about the problem. The paper showed that the woman and her son had been in at least three times in the past two weeks. It also read that the woman was almost unable to wake her son at one point.

"Hmmm. If my memory is correct, I'd say it's…..no that's too rare." Carlisle said to himself. He left the empty clinic room, and walked into the waiting area. Sure enough, he saw an extremely groggy looking teenage boy, accompanied by a nervous looking woman. Dr. Cullen gazed down at his paper and read

"Mark Falstein?" The woman got up quickly and dragged her son behind her.

"So they have finally decided to give us a second opinion. I'm really worried…"

"I'm sure every thing will be fine." Dr. Cullen said soothingly. The woman nodded. He led them into the same empty clinic room and let the boy rest on the bed. He was awake, but appeared to be in a dream like state. It was almost as though he wasn't awake at all.

"Tell me Mrs. Falstein, has your son slept for about 22 hours a day this past week?"

"That sounds about right. The GP just said it was a virus."

"I think your son might have a sleeping disorder called Kleine-Levin syndrome. It is a condition so rare, that only a few cases have ever been reported in recent medical history."

The woman stared blankly.

"How old is he?" Dr. Cullen asked.

"Fourteen."

"You see, this disease is at its prime in the teenage years. If it is KLS that he has, which I presume is true; he will experience various spells of sleep for long periods of time. He will grow out of it though; symptoms seem to disappear in the late twenties."

"Are you completely sure?"

"I'll run some tests to confirm it, but the best thing to do is to let the spells pass. As you can see, he has no fever." It was true; the boy was no longer feverish.

"How do you know for sure?" The woman asked, a bit dumbfounded.

"I see a lot of cases in neurology, and I read about this extremely rare disorder. If you would like I can recommend you to a specialist for a second opinion. In fact, I think a neurologist would be the best for you." Dr. Cullen pulled a piece of paper from his clip board and wrote the name of one of his neurologist friends on the fragment of paper. He handed it to the woman.

"You can find him in the Virginia Mason Hospital in Seattle. The Neuroscience institute is very nice there." Dr. Cullen said as the woman pulled her sleepy son from the bed.

"Thank you…" She looked at his name tag. "Dr. Cullen." She tucked the reference in her purse and was gone shortly after. Dr. Cullen decided that it would be best to keep this experience to himself, because he didn't want to point out Dr. Maryter's error in observation. How would he know? He didn't have countless years to study every branch of medicine that he wanted to. This disease was so rare, that it was natural for an ordinary diagnostician to overlook it.

After his brief encounter with yet another rare disease, Dr. Cullen began to work on his next case. This sent him to the pathology lab to review some specimens taken from a biopsy of his current patient. The symptoms of this patient pointed to cancer. He would have an oncologist confirm it, but first he would take a look at the specimens himself as a pathologist.

When Dr. Cullen arrived in the lab, he opened his chemical cabinet for certain solutions that he would need for testing of the specimens, when he noticed something. On the top shelf, there was a small gap between two bottles. Dr. Cullen's photographic memory told him that there was a small sample of arsenic missing. That arsenic was for poison comparisons during procedures such as autopsies or ingestion cases. A thought immediately came to his mind. This arsenic was not being used for any medicinal comparisons at the moment. Had Gregory Lawrence attempted to take more than just the acetaminophen? Apparently he had gotten away with it.

"_That furtive son of a_….." Dr. Cullen thought to himself as the physician's assistant entered the room, and interrupted his thoughts. He quickly grabbed the solutions that were necessary and attempted to push the idea that someone had a hold of a deadly poison from his mind.

"Ready to run these tests Doc?" The assistant said.

"Of course." Dr. Cullen replied. Once the procedures began, Dr. Cullen focused all of his energy into solving the medical problem that was before him. The other problem would have to wait until after hours.

Once work was over, Dr. Cullen left the building once it was dark, as usual. As he proceeded in driving home, his thoughts drifted to his missing arsenic. Although the arsenic was only a sample, it was still enough to poison one person, or make them extremely ill. Was Mr. Lawrence planning on using the arsenic for his own purposes? Or did he really have this "friend" who had requested it? He cursed himself for letting the boy off so easily.

When he arrived home, Dr. Cullen headed straight to his office.

He sat down at his desk to call Gregory Lawrence. He had a few theories, and in order to justify all of them, he could not incriminate Mr. Lawrence right away. It was a little detective trick to gain information. The phone began to ring, being the efficient character that he was; Gregory answered no later than the second ring.

"Hello?"

"Mr. Lawrence, it's Dr. Cullen, I was wondering if you could perhaps give me the name of this friend that had you steal for him. You know, just out of curiosity." There was a short pause.

"I figured that this was coming…." Gregory paused. "Henry Bradford, but if it's possible, you didn't hear it from me."

"Alright, that will be all. Thank you." Dr. Cullen said as he hung up the phone.

His first idea was to see if such a person existed. He logged on to his computer and found the website to Silbert University, where Gregory Lawrence attended. He looked up this Henry Bradford, but he wasn't surprised by what he found. The name had brought up a newspaper article from nearly seven years ago, before the Cullen's lived in Forks. The article was titled "_Tragic car accident kills a college student_." A group of drunken college frat boys had totaled their car out side the library, and killed another student

Carlisle pursed his lips. Either Mr. Lawrence was imbecilic enough to think that Dr. Cullen would not look this boy up, or that Mr. Lawrence honestly thought that this friend of his was named Henry Bradford. Carlisle checked to make sure that there were not two Henry Bradford's at Silbert University, and sure enough, there were not. Someone was posing as this person, because they knew that there was a chance that they would be caught. At this point he knew that Mr. Lawrence had been played by this person. Carlisle wondered if this mystery could become any more confusing. He assured himself that he would untangle it in time.

Carlisle decided to take a break from his work, and remind his family that he wasn't dead. He answered a few more e-mails for work then headed downstairs. He saw Alice sitting happily on the couch with Rosalie and their new friend Jack Moreau. Alice seemed quite comfortable, and her eyes were glowing in a happy, felicitous way. Despite the current troubles that the family was facing, she had pulled through, and Carlisle was glad to see her so animated again. He knew that there was underlying tension and apprehension between everyone when it came to Jasper. However, it felt like everything was fine for the moment as Carlisle stood in the living room, in fact, he felt cheerful. He spotted Esme and Emmett sitting at a table in the far corner of the room. Esme appeared to be teaching Emmett to sew, and he looked less than interested. It was slightly funny to see Emmett and his robust figure desperately trying to manipulate the small and delicate needle. Once Emmett noticed Carlisle's entry he looked over at him and pleaded. "Please make her stop! I know nothing about stitching! Nothing!"

"Quit complaining! You're almost finished." Esme said with a smile, knowing that everyone was enjoying Emmett's torture. Emmett shot Carlisle another pleading look.

"You heard her, you're almost finished." Carlisle said with a smile.

Emmett's jaw dropped in despair. "You can't let her do this to me!"

"Where is Edward?" Carlisle said, switching the subject. Emmett dropped his head and reluctantly attempted to complete his sewing lesson.

"He's out with Bella." Alice said. "You actually just missed him about an hour ago, when Jack got here."

"I see." Carlisle replied. It was not hard for him to believe, Edward didn't particularly care for Mr. Moreau, unlike everyone else in the Cullen house hold.

"He always seems to disappear when I come around." Jack said modestly.

"Don't mind him; he's just mad because he can't listen in on your thoughts. You're lucky." Rosalie said.

"That makes sense." Jack stated.

"Hey Emmett when you're finished, I have a skirt with a nice rip you can fix. I'd like to ware it tomorrow." Rosalie said with a giggle in Emmett's direction.

"Fix it yourself!" Emmett groaned.

Once Emmett was finished, he threw the needle down and claimed that he would never sew again.

Carlisle conversed with his family and their guest, who had so graciously helped them pull through during Jasper's absence. After a while, Carlisle decided that he would return to his office and finish some work.

"You're going back already?" Esme said, disappointed.

"I'm afraid I must, I've got so much to do."

"If you must, we'll miss you."

Carlisle left the jovial atmosphere of his living room, and went upstairs to his office, where a dark cloud of accentuation seemed to loom. He decided he would review some of his medical cases to refresh his memory.

After a few hours of frivolous medical thinking, Dr. Cullen decided to read about various medical stories for fun. He found it oddly amusing to read about how other doctors solve things, it gave him new ideas. Tonight it would be cases in neurology.

Neuroscience had always interested Carlisle, and he decided that he may complete his next specialist work in that field. The human brain is a very delicate and powerful tool.

He began reading about a French physiatrist in the 1950's who had worked miracles in an English insane asylum, he noticed something interesting. A young man by the name of Henry Bradford was committed to that very asylum in 1954.

"How odd." Carlisle said to himself, in the privacy of his home office. The name was fairly common, especially in a place like England. There must have been at least a thousand Henry Bradford's, he just happened to read about two of them in the same day. This fact was very funny to him at the moment. However, he couldn't shake the strange, intuitive feeling that it was more than just a coincidence.

He continued to read the article; it seemed to be something he missed in the medical journals during the 1950's. Apparently this French woman was an amazing psycho-analyzer. The asylum became one of the best, producing the largest amount of recoveries at that point in England. It was said that her Bradford case was one of the most devastating and interesting cases at the same time. Bradford was diagnosed as a schizophrenic who had been accused of murder. Although he was proved guilty, he was sentenced to life at the asylum. Apparently, the physiatrist, Veronique Biduemordeau had been making great progress with the patient, until one day he killed himself in his cell.

It was an interesting story, and now that he had read over it, he had recalled some publicity over it. It was a very small amount though because he had been living in America at the time. A sudden thought came over him. Why was the name Veronique Biduemordeau so familiar sounding to him? There was something strange about this case; he just couldn't seem to piece it together.

Carlisle sat at his desk for nearly an hour thinking when a thought dawned upon him. A sudden epiphany embraced him in enlightenment.

"I know Veronique." He whispered to himself in excitement. "She's a vampire."

The thoughts seemed to stream together so fluidly at once. "Henry Bradford never died. He was changed, right there in his cell!" Carlisle said excitedly with a little more volume.

"This means that there is possibly _another_ vampire in this vicinity." Carlisle exclaimed. However, this vampire was not like others, he was diagnosed a dangerous schizophrenic, and Dr. Cullen figured that such things don't change.


	11. Chapter 11

Chapter XI

Carlisle was ecstatic with his new enlightenment. The only question was, where was Henry Bradford, and what did he want with arsenic, acetaminophen and three needles? His thoughts were racing with a mix of anticipation and sheer excitement. He ran down the hallway, to the top of the stairs and surveyed the living room. Only his family remained, the guest was gone. He noticed that a small box was sitting unopened on the piano bench. He headed down stairs to take a look at it. Alice noticed her father's curiosity, and began to explain.

"Jack gave it to me, but he told me not to open until morning." Alice's eyes were shining with excitement. Carlisle could tell that she wanted to open it that very second.

"That was nice of him. Any reason?"

"No. He was just being kind." Alice replied as she picked up the small box and placed it on a bookshelf on the other side of the room.

With his curiosity being served, Carlisle headed back up to his office, with more ideas budding quickly in his head.

As he walked up the hallway, Edward exited his room and followed his father back to his office.

"Slow down, I can hardly keep up with your thoughts." He said, slightly astounded by his father's erratic train of thought.

"Edward, I think I have the answer to this baffling mystery."

"Really? Just by sitting down and thinking? Excellent work Poirot." Edward said cynically. "Since when do you become a detective?"

"What do you think medical work is? One makes a detailed observation, finds clues, and uses those clues to find a solution, a diagnosis to be precise."

"Oh, I see." Edward said. "What is the answer to this mystery?"

"Well, I 'm not exactly sure, but I think there may be another vampire in our small vicinity."

Edward arched his eyebrow. "Don't you think we would have noticed?"

Once Edward spoke, Carlisle experienced another epiphany, just as spontaneous as the last. There was silence for a moment between the two.

"We wouldn't have…We never did." Carlisle said as he ran his hand through his thick blond hair. "I've been so blind. Edward, I must say that your intuition has never failed you."

"I'm not following."

"May I ask you a question?"

"Can I ask one first?"

"Yes, go on."

"Are you insane?"

"No, but I hate to say that I will be dealing with someone who is. Anyways, what would you say if I told you that we know the murderer of Joanna Cartlette and Victoria?"

"What?" Edward said in brief abashment.

"Let me explain my theory." Carlisle said as he crossed his arms. "In the past week we have experienced a string of strange events from murders to theft cases. I have reason to believe that all of these events are related. I believe that I know who murdered Joanna Cartlette, a werewolf and Victoria, to be exact, it is not Jasper."

"I could believe you when it comes to Victoria and that hound, but Joanna? What about Alice's vision? She distinctly saw Jasper. How do you explain that?" Edward questioned. "She's never been wrong before."

"And she never will be. It's all quite simple, and I curse myself for not realizing it earlier. Alice usually sees her visions from the perspective of the person who is experiencing the event. She was concerned because she was having visions that were different. The truth was that she couldn't detect the presence of another vampire, so automatically, she assumed that it was Jasper's decisions that she was viewing. This vampire whose actions she was seeing has a special gift. He can blend, and appear _almost _undetected by other vampires. It seems as though he also has the ability to 'borrow' the powers of other vampires. This may sound crazy; I have learned this from observation. Do you follow?" Carlisle asked.

"Are you saying that someone 'stole' Jasper's abilities to be charismatic? That's too strange."

"I am completely serious."

"The only vampire like that I know would be….." Edward paused. "Jack Moreau. I never liked him, but I wouldn't have guessed, he was too close to being suspected."

"I must say that seems to be all part of his plan." Carlisle said. An urgent tone was making its way into his voice. "I also have reason to believe that Jasper is in danger…." Before Carlisle could finish, Alice came in to the office.

"I've just had a vision." She spoke quickly and seriously. "I saw your intern, Mr. Lawrence, I think he's going to poison someone, he had arsenic."

"He's not planning on poisoning anyone, he's running an errand. However, someone is going to use that arsenic for deadly purposes…." Carlisle stopped for a moment. "Where was he headed? Can you see it?"

Alice grabbed a sheet of paper from Carlisle's printer and a pencil from his desk. She elegantly folded her petit figure on the floor and closed her eyes. For a moment she did nothing, but then she began to draw a picture of the setting. Thankfully, a house and a street sign told Carlisle of the ex-intern's location. He was at 166 Pine Road.

"I want you all to stay here, I'm going after him." Carlisle said sternly.

"What? You can't go alone!" Edward said, slightly raising his voice.

"I shall, and you will come only if I call you." Carlisle said, sounding strangely parental. He didn't have time to explain his actions, but he assumed that what he was about to face could endanger his family.

Carlisle left the house with little explanation for the rest of his family. He got in his car and headed towards his destination.

The small street was only a short distance away form Silbert University. The houses that lined the street were designed to look like Victorian style houses, but smaller. They looked new, but he could tell they were meant to appear old and authentic.

Quickly Carlisle found 166 and parked his car on the other side of the street. He made his way up the steps and turned the doorknob. It was unlocked. Willingly, Carlisle opened the door and stepped inside.

The interior was also made to look Victorian. There was a small chandelier that hung down on the entry way, and a straight set of rich wooden stairs that lead to a second floor which greeted him into the ghostly abode. He imagined that with some light, the house would be wonderful. However, light was not the only thing missing. From what he could see of the house, there was hardly any furniture; giving of the feeling that no one lived there. A sudden groan came from the room next to him. Carlisle stood still for a moment, and then went in search of the source of the noise. He found Gregory Lawrence lying on a nineteenth century French style sofa unconscious. There was a bruise forming on the top of his head, giving Carlisle the notion that Gregory had been hit very hard. He kneeled down and checked Mr. Lawrence's pulse.

"He's fine Dr. Cullen; I haven't killed him…yet." A familiar voice spoke from behind him. Carlisle rose slowly and turned around.

"It's nice to see you again tonight Mr. Moreau, or may I call you Mr. Bradford?"

"Very clever Dr. Cullen, I see you've got me figured out."

"I believe I have." Carlisle said calmly. "Why did you kill Joanna Cartlett?"

A sinister smile spread across Bradford's face. "Let me show you something Dr. Cullen." A few strands of his light brown hair fell into his face as he lead Carlisle into what would have been the kitchen.

There were various chemistry instruments carefully arranged on the counter, along with several chemicals and specimens lined up very precisely. Carlisle spotted two of his needles and his sample of arsenic.

"The Cartlette family is very wealthy, and they _used_ to fund the well renowned chemistry department at Silbert University. I happened to be one of the most prestigious students, benefiting the most from their generous grants. We were making so much progress in research….. Then they stopped, and cut off the funds, do know why Dr. Cullen?"

"Please explain." Carlisle asked calmly.

"Two other things attracted their attention. One was the biology department at another, larger, college, and the other was for your hospital."

"The new Emergency room and Trauma center saves many lives a year thanks to their generosity." Carlisle said defensively.

"Yes, but so did your old one."

"This is true." Carlisle said, trying not to argue.

"I feel as though no one ever understood my genius, accept for one person."

"Veronique Bidumordeau?" Carlisle asked.

"Yes, very good Dr. Cullen. I underestimated you."

"To make things clear, you killed Joanna, and then let a snake bite her so that the evidence would point towards something else."

"Right again, however, I knew you were the pathologist, and that you would know the truth. Because of that, I let my presence be known to your son, and he followed me. He came at just the rights moment, exactly how I had planned. Right after I'd bitten her, he tried to save her. At that moment, I stabbed him with my own clever invention, a vampire sedative."

"I'm guessing what you gave him was a smaller dose of what you gave to Victoria." Carlisle said. "Then you got the werewolves looking in the wrong direction by making it appear as though Jasper ran away due to guilt, because you knew I would reluctantly suspect him."

"Again, you are correct. You're very smart Dr. Cullen, but I still remained one step ahead of you this entire time. I only messed with those idiotic dogs to make you confused, and keep you busy."

"Just as most organized criminals do."

"This is true. You probably want to know why I killed Victoria also."

"Yes."

Mr. Bradford smiled again, but this time with a sense of accomplishment.

"You see, after I had posed as a journalist, and made my way into your family's inner circle, I became great friends with your daughter. I would like to give a partial thanks to your other son's charismatic skills; they seem to work for me very well."

Carlisle began to feel very angry that this man had played Alice. "She trusted you." He said, letting only a small amount of his anger be audible in his voice.

"That was the beauty of it. I knew she would be devastated over the loss of her dear friend; I had planned it that way. With her information, I was able to know what you were thinking, and I was able to remain ahead of you. I had seen Victoria before, and I befriended her also. She had been watching you for a while, so I used her and information about her from Alice. You should thank me, because she was planning on killing that human friend of yours. She gave me information about you also. Unfortunately, her need to kill that girl was getting in my way, and she was of no further use to me. I tested my newest invention, and killed her. At that point, I was enjoying your confusion. I set it up so that the blame would fall on your trusted intern; apparently you were following my plan exactly. It was rather amusing."

"So you wanted my tools to make Mr. Lawrence my prime suspect?"

"Was he not? I seem to have succeeded. I wanted your tools for my own purposes, Mr. Lawrence was only my tool to receive them. He was a good dog, he did exactly what I said with out question."

"He stole the arsenic on the day of the outbreak, that must have set back your plans." Carlisle said. Another smile crossed Mr. Bradford's face.

"Quite on the contrary Dr. Cullen. I brought in the bacteria."

Carlisle's face surely showed his shock. This was one thing that he had not predicted.

"You wouldn't have expected that, I knew it. I started it on a few people at first, so that it would seem more natural, then I contaminated the water fountains at the convention center. Once a few people drank from it, the bacteria began to spread on its own." Carlisle remembered the water that the woman with the spring time dress was drinking. It must have come from the fountain.

"While you were caught up with the outbreak, it gave your intern just enough time to find the key to your chemical cabinet and take the arsenic. I told him to put the acetaminophen there and get it later, but I did this intentionally. I knew that you would notice that before you would see the missing arsenic. It was far more obvious. This way you would assume that he had not completed his attempt to steal from you. I actually just wanted to confuse you further. I find it rather amusing to mess with your head."

"What did you want the arsenic for?" Was all that Carlisle could manage to say after hearing Mr. Bradford's account. This man was brilliant, but he was crazy, he was insane.

"I've been trying for a long time now, to create an easy way to kill a vampire. Burning them is much too hard. My first creation was a sedative for them; by making it stronger I could kill them. It's a synthetic blend of vampire venom and various hemolytic toxins. I was surprised it worked so well. The reason I wanted this vampire poison, was for power and control. I wanted to be able to control whether they would live of die. Just like I can with the delicate lives of humans."

"Because you could never have complete control of yourself." Carlisle said.

"Perhaps. You sound like a psychiatrist, and I have heard many of them in my days."

"May I ask you a question?" Carlisle asked.

"Why not, I've told you everything else already."

"What have you done with Jasper?"

"Oh, yes, him." Mr. Bradford said with a sneer as he walked into the room where Gregory laid unconscious on the sofa. "He's upstairs, in fact I haven't given him a sedative in quite a while. I assume he should be fully conscious."

Carlisle found Mr. Bradford's manner too calm and too revealing. There was something going on that he wasn't realizing. Then, Mr. Bradford spoke.

"I don't want to kill you Dr. Cullen."

"That's good." Carlisle said calmly. He noticed that Mr. Bradford was standing very close to Gregory's sleeping body.

"I know you want to deal with me though, but I am afraid that I don't have time for that, so I'm going to give you a choice."

Before Carlisle could do anything, Mr. Bradford pulled a needle from his pocket and stuck it into Gregory's arm.

"Mr. Lawrence will die in twenty minutes. However, there is an antidote; it's in the box I gave to Alice. So, you can chase me down, or you can save this man. I might add…that Jasper should be coming around shortly, so good luck."

Before Carlisle could say anything, Henry Bradford escaped out the door. Carlisle knew his choice though. He looked at his watch, a minute had already passed, and his house was not as close as he would have liked. He would have to do some serious speeding. He ran up the stairs and found Jasper in the first room he looked in. He was sitting in a Victorian style parlor chair, with a bewildered expression on his face. Mr. Bradford truly had everything planed and timed to work out.

"Jasper?" He said shaking his son slightly. Three minutes.

"Huh?" Jasper replied. "I'll kill you, you blasted….Carlisle what are you doing here?"

"Come with me, we only have a short amount of time, I'll explain everything when we get home." Carlisle said urgently. Jasper nodded in agreement.

"Are you alright?" Carlisle added, just to make sure that Bradford hadn't pulled any other tricks on him.

"Yes, I think so." Jasper replied as he stood up.

"Then let's go."

The two ran down the stairs. At that point six minutes had been used up.

Carlisle picked up Gregory Lawrence and took him to his car. Due to the lack of time, Carlisle loaded him rather quickly into the back seat, and then scurried into the driver's side. Jasper sat in the front next to him. Eight minutes had passed.

The ride home was quick and silent. The early hours of the morning allowed for easy speeding down the road. In a normal situation, Carlisle would have never gone too far over the posted speed limit.

Once they reached the Cullen house hold, Carlisle quickly stopped his car and retrieved the unconscious body from the back seat. He only had four minutes to spare.

He dropped Gregory on a couch in their living room and called out for Alice.

"Alice, I need that box!" He exclaimed, still maintaining an overall calm composure. This was something that only Carlisle Cullen could manage to do.

Alice hurried over, overjoyed to see Jasper but shocked to see Mr. Lawrence in his current state. She retrieved the unopened box and handed it to Carlisle.

Two minutes.

He opened it quickly, retrieving a small injection needle filled with fluid. He stabbed the needle into one of the main arteries of Gregory's arm.

Time.

"He should be safe now." Carlisle said as he took the empty needle from Gregory's arm. Alice held the empty box in her hand along with a small slip of paper. She handed it to Carlisle. The slip read in an elegant script.

"_You almost caught me. Perhaps we will meet again some day._

_J. Moreau"_

**Post-Trauma**

That morning everyone rejoiced in having Jasper back. It was a great relief for everyone, especially Carlisle to know that he was safe. Gregory was sent home with little memory of the night's previous incidents, and he was slightly confused as to how he ended up at the Cullen household. He was told that he tripped and hit his head very hard. The part about his poisoning was skipped.

Jasper was filled in on everything that happened while he was gone, and of all the trouble the family went through.. During the recap of the week, Carlisle noticed that Alice had left. He found her leaning against the window of her bedroom, with her face pressed against it. Carlisle sat down next to her.

"What are you thinking about?" He asked.

"I trusted him." She said softly, her expression didn't change.

"We all did." He said, putting his hand on her shoulder to comfort her.

"I should have listened to Edward, but I thought that Jack was different. How could I have been so stupid?"

"Don't feel discouraged, it's over now. He deceived us all, and the best thing you can do is become a stronger person. Life gives us illusions and realities, and it's up to us to sort them out."

She smiled a little. "Thanks for the advice. You're not going to go after him are you?"

"Not now, but I think justice needs to be served."

"When will that be?" Alice asked.

"I don't know for sure."

The two were silent for a moment, as a sudden burst of sunlight flooded through the window. The warm rays radiated both of them and illuminated small flecks of dust floating through the air. As they sat there in brief tranquility, Carlisle smiled, because for the moment, it wasn't raining.

_**The End**_

**Note from the Author: There will be a sequel, so keep your eyes open for my next installment! Thank you so much for reading!**


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